Piano Keys: In an octave, there are a total of 13 keys (8 white and 5 black, arranged as 2 and 3).

As their results began to crystallize, at first they didn’t notice the striking patterns emerging. But a colleague who reviewed their work spotted the famed Fibonacci numbers—a list whose entries have ...

Though generations of schoolchildren have cursed arithmetic, the world was a much more inconvenient place without it. Before the advent of modern arithmetic in the 13th century, basic calculations ...

Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy argues that the perceived divide between the arts and mathematics is a modern invention. At ...

Pine cones. Stock-market quotations. Sunflowers. Classical architecture. Reproduction of bees. Roman poetry. What do they have in common? In one way or another, these and many more creations of nature ...

What do pine cones and paintings have in common? A 13th-century Italian mathematician named Leonardo of Pisa. Better known by his pen name, Fibonacci, he came up with a number sequence that keeps ...

...for calculating the famous Golden Ratio, that is. But hang on, you remember the Fibonacci numbers, right? Start with 1, then add the previous number to get the next one, like so: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Listen 4:44 Though generations of ...