Phi in Nature, Art and Architecture

Way back in the thirteenth century Leonardo Fibonacci wanted to figure out how many offspring a pair of rabbits and their offspring would have if each bred one female rabbit a month. Simple: 144 rabbits after one year, 46,368 after two, and 14,930,352 rabbits after three years. The illustrious mathematician of Pisa had discovered the Fibonacci Sequence.

By dividing each number in his sequence by its previous number, he had detected Phi, and called it the Golden Ratio. Phi can be rounded up to 1.618.

Arab scholars had long known about this sequence, because for ages they had been using Arab numerals, 0, 1, 2, 3, and were far ahead of Europeans, who were still struggling with Roman numerals.  No matter how brilliant a mathematician, the use of II, IV, or CXII is not conducive to doing math. When Fibonacci returned from his travels to Arabia, he vigorously encouraged Europeans to use the Arab system.

Amazingly, Phi happens to be ubiquitous and a fundamental characteristic of nature. It shows up in the patterns of leaves, flowers, pinecones, pineapples and shells, and even in the spiral of the galaxies.

Phi is not only known as the Golden Ratio in nature, it also features in architecture and art. The pyramids and the Parthenon reflect this principle. Le Corbusier carefully calculated a Golden Ratio when he designed the UN Headquarters. Many city halls and theaters are built in the Classical Greek tradition based on Phi.

Even great artists have embraced Phi. Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Salvador Mundi are all known for having applied the Golden Ratio to some of their famous works of art, such as The Last Supper, The Annunciation, The Birth of Venus, and The Creation of Adam.

Some people claim that the beauty of a face may depend on its ratio too.

May Phi harmonize your life.

Until next time,

Rosi

Computer Glitches

Computers are simply inanimate devices, right?

Wrong.

Computers are highly delicate and sensitive creatures. At least mine is, and it can be quite stubborn at times.

Have you ever been in a big hurry to print out something? My printer worked fine earlier in the day. But now, when I don’t have a minute to spare, it is not cooperating!

Not only that, but the sentence I changed switched back to the old version. Twice. I’m at my wit’s end. Why do computers do that?

Frustration over technology glitches is becoming so prevalent that yesterday the Wall Street Journal featured a front-page article called "The Tech Fails That Annoy Us Most." Geoffrey Fowler and Joanna Stern write "We love technology, but this week we're shaking our fists at it for all the ways it annoys us." They invite readers to send in their pet peeves.

I suspect that computers want us to be grateful, glad and relaxed when we interact with them. After all, what would we do without them? Computers are everywhere and run everything. They know full well how much we depend on them.

Do you suppose that solar flares might occasionally interfere with our computer? Solar flares are known to cause trouble with satellite signals.

It is useless to talk about a computer’s feelings to an engineer. If he’s polite he will tell you that computers are simply machines—man-made, inanimate objects like shoes. If he’s the more direct type he’ll tell you that you’re nuts, how can computers have feelings?!

But suppose my haste and impatience and my rapidly beating heart are sending out jagged vibrations that interfere with the electronic field of my computer. They affected my grandson when he walked into my office.  Even though we didn’t exchange a single word, he said, “Slow down Grandma, slow down!!” How did he know? Because he felt my haste, just as my computer did. It’s not surprising that my computer is sensitive to my feelings; I spend much of my day with it.

I asked a friend of mine about it. He smiled at the foolish idea and patiently explained that our vibrations are much too weak; they measure in micro-volts and couldn’t possibly interfere with the five or more volts that a computer uses.

Perhaps we need to learn how to accurately measure human feelings and how emotions can interfere with or affect electronic equipment as well as other people.

Or could it truly be just us, hitting the wrong computer buttons causing chaos?

As the Cracker song goes:  I could be wrong, I could be right.

Until next time,

Rosi

Lessons of Life

I tossed and turned. Sleep would not come. Tears were soaking my pillow. Helen, my best friend had been killed. Her innocent blue eyes and gentle smile kept beckoning to me. Just a week ago she had turned ten.

Helen had died in an air shelter. I disliked those underground cellars. They were cold, damp, dark and scary. Yet as long as I could remember we had spent part of every night in one. I suppose they did provide some safety, as long as you reached one in time and if it didn’t suffer a direct hit. I shuddered thinking of those who had been buried in one alive.

Would it ever end, this miserable war? You couldn’t ask a soul. Questions of a political nature were severely punished.  They labeled you as a traitor. Complete faith in the country’s leadership was a prerequisite for survival.

I secretly asked Mother one day. Infinite pain clouded her face, but only for a moment.  Then she softly stroked my head and whispered, “It will, one day.”

Why can’t we live together in peace, I wondered.

Why spread so much distrust and hate?

Why not work together and make it a better world for all?

It seemed so simple and so obvious, but why was it an utterly out-of-reach goal? The very air we breathed was laden with sadness. When was it that I saw someone smile or laugh? I could not remember. Death and destruction was everywhere. And fear, infinite fear of more death and destruction, or worse.

I suddenly sat up in bed, electrified, the first epiphany for a ten-year old. “That’s it. Of course!” I smiled to myself. “What the world needs is more kindness. I shall always be kind.”

Happily I fell asleep and never doubted or altered this first lesson that life had taught me.

Until next time,

Rosi

The Marvels of Technology

Electronics and technology have taken a big leap forward. I remember writing programs for one of the early computers using nothing but Yes, No and Maybe. Punch cards would feed the info into some giant computer that filled the whole well-air-conditioned room. Hardly anyone had access.

Today, we all own computers. Life comes to a screeching halt when they break down.

In fact, many of the younger generation prefer their cell-phones over their computers. Why send emails when you can instagram or text messages? The cell phone seems to have become the universal link to the world.

When you used to see five or six teenagers sharing a table, they’d be all laughing, talking, or kidding each other. Today, they’d all be busy with their electronic gadgets — texting, tweeting, instagramming, snapchatting, or facebooking.

Are we experiencing a shift in paradigm?

No doubt about it, the world has changed. Barely 68 years ago television screens were the size of a postcard and their pictures were black and white. Barely 38 years ago the first commercially successful personal computers were made. Cell phones, iPods and iPads are even more recent. The brain of today’s generation is bombarded with millions of images and impressions all day long, more impressions in a single day than my generation used to get in a year. It’s an overwhelming assault on the human brain that has to sort, digest and discard all that information. No wonder ADD has surfaced.

Will texting and surfing distance us from the realities of life? Not necessarily. When we’re looking for a partner or a friend, we need to shake their hand, look them in the eye, observe their body language, hear their voice and see their face. The same holds true when we’re looking for a job. We need to appear in person, answer questions, and exercise our skills of communication.

Nonetheless, texting and googling are an immense boon and convenience. They greatly enrich our lives. People who are isolated can remain connected with the world. We can ask google for any kind of information. Electronic devices are simply tools, but great tools.

We can use them to connect us but also to disconnect us from the world, to enhance our knowledge or to numb our minds. The marvels of technology have indeed caused a shift in paradigm in recent years. We need to adjust and strive toward using these tools with wisdom and in moderation. It may be of paramount importance to relegate our cell phones to the backseat when we are with other people and be with them whole-heartedly, enjoying their company and exploring the mysteries of someone else’s world. We may be amazed at what we find. 

Until next time,

Rosi

Dennis Prager’s Speech Revisited

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Dennis Prager’s speech (see previous blog) evoked whole-hearted approval. The general consensus was yes, High Schools should focus on academics and on building their students’ character, scholarship and humanity. They should not tolerate the use of foul language and students’ focus on race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. The purpose of our public schools is to educate good Americans, make them fluent in the English language so they can compete in the job market, and to be proud and grateful to be citizens of this great nation.

According to one of my well-informed readers, however, Dennis Prager is not a high school principal. He is a Southern California talk show and a nationally syndicated radio host. This speech of his was first published in 2010 in one of his columns under the title, “A Speech Every High School Principal Should Give.” It has since been cruising the internet.

It may be disappointing that it was not a principal who was addressing his students and faculty. On the other hand, the words of a talk show host may have even greater impact. Apparently, Snopes.com has received hundreds of inquiries, a sign that Prager’s words have fallen on fertile ground.

Until next time,

Rosi

A Grateful Parent

Today is Martin Luther King Day. King would have loved and applauded this speech that the new Colorado High School Principal Dennis Prager recently presented to his students. King would have called it a vital step in the right direction. Here is what Prager had to say:

“I am your new principal, and honored to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.

“I would like to apprise you of some important changes coming to our school. I am making these changes because I am convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against our country.

“First, this school will no longer honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is your individual identity — your character, your scholarship, your humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about is American.

“This is an American public school, and American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school, you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and non-American nationality-based celebrations. They undermine the motto of America, one of its three central values — E pluribus unum, "from many, one." And this school will be guided by America's values. This includes all after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion, sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society divided by political correctness.

“Your clubs will be based on interests and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism — an unhealthy preoccupation with the self — while the purpose of education is to get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of yourself really interests you.

“Second, I am uninterested in whether English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school. It is one of the indispensable reasons this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other languages here — it is deplorable that most Americans only speak English — but if you want classes taught in your native language rather than in English, this is not your school.

“Third, because I regard learning as a sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal dress code at this school.

“Fourth, no obscene language will be tolerated anywhere on this school's property — whether in class, in the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as "Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another black, or "bitch," even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and the degraded, the holy and the obscene.

“Fifth, we will end all self-esteem programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way — the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago — by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one valedictorian, not eight.

“Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue... There will be no more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not consider him or herself inordinately fortunate — to be alive and to be an American.

“Now, please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.”

High School Principal Dennis Prager of Colorado

Thank you, Mr. Prager!

Until next time,

Rosi

New Year's Resolution — 2015

Live each day as if it were a precious gift, as if it were a lifetime in itself. Treasure each moment, strive toward your dreams, give thanks for being alive.

May you enjoy a happy and healthy New Year.

Until next time,

Rosi