So, someone posted before me saying that they got the first comment. Since that's all they said, I'm hoping that their post will be deleted and that I'll get "first comment" for the first time in history. So this Phi thing, I've never heard of it. how is it derived, and is it as memorization worthy as Pi?

I read the linked page on occurances of Phi in nature, and I think it's BS. Everything can be represented as a proportion of Phi, it just depends on how big a number you start with. That guy wasn't using "1" for everything, was he?

I particularly don't like how he acts like you can only divide the line a with phi and get the ratio to work...

"Take a line and divide it so that the ratio of the large piece (B) to the whole line (A) is the same as the ratio as the small piece (C) to the large piece (B):"

come on, simple math... For any values of A and C (Given logic, A > C and A > 0 and C > 0), B equaling sqrt(A) * sqrt(C) will always fit this ratio... Try it if you don't beleive me.

And explain to how 1 and 2/3 is a close enough approximation for phi??? All bull with the bible, god said build it with these porportions... 1 and 2/3 is close enough isn't guys ?!?!?!

I don't know about some of the other men here, but the golden ratio certainly does not work on all body parts... ok, my (shortened) rant is done...

Somehow I forgot the whole B+C=A when I did my math... I sit correct, I guess I believe in god now.

Um, that argument doesn't make a lot of sense. You're essentially arguing that somehow the unit of measure makes a difference. He's not saying the length is phi. He's saying the ratio of the lengths is Phi:1. Of course, this doesn't always occur exactly in nature, but if it's incredibly close. Sunflowers, seashells, and trees...

Ooooh, now only if we could celebrate by watching a movie called "Phi" about a paranoid guy who's coming closer and closer to decoding the meaning of...

Ah, forget it. Just watch "Pi" again and pretend it's all about Phi.

Ah, yes. Pi. Now that was a cool movie. I didn't get the whole part about the brain, but oh well. ;-)

I must have been sleeping or something when this movie came out. What is it about? Do you happen to know if you can rent it on video? (Or maybe it's a really old movie and I sound really stupid right now) Anyway. ACKPTH!

-Fil spits out another $0.02 for the TI Community to chew on

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!
I GOT SOMEONE TO USE "ACKPTH!"

:)

--BlueCalx

Oh yes, I'm one of your most loyal followers, almighty Nick. I've been using ACKPTH in my daily speech for some time now, ever since you instituted it with that one news item. It's become part of my regular vocabulary now, and my life just wouldn't be the same without it. Thank you Nick.

-Fil donates $0.02 to Nick to aid in the creation of many more "ACKPTHs" in the future...

Ah Yes, Nick Disabato or Park Ridge, Illinois has once again used his great power over the Ticalc.org community of 9,250 exactly while posting this through Ticalc's all powerful Pentium MMX 200 MHz system server for ticalc.ticalc.org and Dual Pentium Pro 200 MHz for lists.ticalc.org located in Sollentuna, Sweden to make a member say ACKPTH!"

Such Sheer Power!

Carpe Diem! Look how it worked for him on that fateful day Thursday, 20 May 1999 11:03:07 -0400 (EDT)
when Chris invited him to join Ticalc. And now, It will be Ticalc.org's 4th anniversary on June 21.

Now I leave you to reflect on these thoughts of sheer power and seizing the day.

Geshontano (My Russian says Goodbye)
Ravar (My Shoshone Heritage says Goodbye)
Au Revoir (All those stupid years in French Class say Goodbye)
Adios (My watching of some cheap Spanish movie when I was 5 says Goodbye)
Niche (My Japanese says Goodbye)
Goodbye (My typical 13-year old self says Goodbye)

I leave you now.

MCMIX

What is "ACKPTH" ?

It's 3 years old, i think... you can get it on DVD from Netflix.

Well SOME people in the world aren't lucky enough to HAVE wonderful technologies such as a DVD player. ACKPTH! This is useless!

-Fil, who just decided to start saving his $0.02s from now on to buy a DVD player

I know that my local Movie Gallery and Blockbuster had the film on video. Check around, you should be able to find it.

I believe the brain represented his headaches from pursuing that number so much. Notice how he paused before hitting enter? He eventually fought against the headache, not taking the pills, and destroying his means for seeking the number (God's name?). The moral was to accept the questions instead of torturing yourself over the answers.

Cool, makes sense. Thanks.

By the way, you forgot the part when he washes the brain down the sink - that means that he's getting rid of his headaches as well... :-)

Actually, that movie WAS about phi, if you were paying attention. After the Jewish guy came to him with the whole father (3) plus mother (41) equals child (44) deal, he began ranting about phi and how the golden rectangle lead to the golden spiral. The rest of the movie, he was seeing how nature was all about spirals. In fact, they took out a scene where the little girl (who kept asking him math questions with her calculator) had a slinky go down the stairs... another spiral, even though it wasn't exactly golden. Pi only dealt with the old man, and the 216 number was just crazy... Pi was all about phi.

Thank you.
This saves me the trouble of having to post. :)

--<marquee>Blue</marquee> <marquee><i>Calx</i></marquee>

This reminds me of those theological charlatans who claim that the bible contains hidden text that predicts the future. Strange how they can only decipher this text after the fact. You would think that after the first supposed decryption, that they could have applied the same key to make an equally substantial prediction. Instead, after the first couple of meaningful predictions, additional predictions begin to sound vague and mystical. If you play with numbers, eventually you will find supposed deep meaning.

I can prove that J. Edgar Hoover killed JFK with the Assault Rifle in the Book Depository. How? Take the caliber of the rifle, divide it by the month J. Edgar Hoover was born. Multiply it by pi, for the fact the bullet is a cylinder with a paraboloid for a head, and then take it to the power of the number of people in the parade crowd. Divide by the age of Earth, and you get the EXACT day that JFK was shot.

If you actually do the math, I will feel very, very sorry for you.

Hrmm....thats interesting and all, but not very relevant. And the "Bible Code" as some call it doesn't really exist. It's a bunch of extremists that think they can predict the future (and they are actually trying to use it to predict the future). Ever seen the Omega Code (movie)? It's so fake (if you have the backround knowledge of the book of Revelation). Anyway, on the topic again. Does anyone care it's Phi day? Theres alot better news to report...like PCTools and a new version of Phoenix. Click the link above for the news.

isn't that old news? I seem to recall an article to that effect a few days ago...

<snip>Strange how they can only decipher this text after the fact.</snip>

Of course, before an event happens, you wouldn't know what to look for. For example, if, in 1920, you were using to Bible codes to search for information on future wars, you would not look for "Adolf Hitler," "Pearl Harbor," or "atomic bomb" because these phrases had no significance until 20 years later. Only after an event occurs would you have enough information to find that event in the Bible.