Fun With Numbers

Here's a recent conversation I had online with Some Joker and EM:

SJ: "The Fibonacci sequence determines the life of textbooks."

Me: "Your mentioning Fibonacci numbers reminds me painfully of how quickly any education about numbers goes in one side of my head and out the other. I ordered a course that included Fibonacci numbers, about 6 months ago, and understood it all perfectly. Now all I can connect with "Fibonacci" is something about pineapples. Or was it pine cones?"

EM: "Or rabbits. My favorites are flower petals and leaf arrangements. And Fibonacci stock chart retracements. [Includes several links to number sequences in nature.]"

Me: "Thanks for the fun links, EM. Now it all comes back to me. This reassures me that if ever I find myself in a spot where FNs may save my skin, I can reach 'way back in the file cabinet and pull them out. ...I'm thinking one could filet-crochet a mat that illustrates the numbers. Conversation piece, if one ever had Stephen Hawking or Richard Hoover to tea."

EM: "Good idea, because those two are just ALWAYS dropping by!"

This got me thinking about Richard, so I Googled around and found that he's a group leader or something at NASA in Huntsville, and has written numerous books about astrobiology and diatoms and more, and has been to Siberia and the South Pole and all over the place. The pictures are from online sites and won't copy very well.

Many years ago I read an article by him in National Geographic, in which he mentioned that he had traveled all over the world and a lot of other good stuff, which I felt was aimed at me if I should happen to read it. Just to show me what I missed by not marrying him. I had very few regrets.