Oh, and Nick. I intend to get the FBONAC license plate if no one else has taken it. Or how about OPNHMR for those of you with a nuclear fetish? I am partial to HAWKNG, though. ENTRPY might be equally good. And don't forget MYTI89. :P

hey, what do all those stand for (the MYTI89 is obvious)

Fibbonaci
Oppenheimer
Hawking (stephen)
Entropy

HAWKNG (HAWKING)
OPNHMR (OPEN HUMOR)

And please tell me what irrational number Psi is. I have been trying to figure this out for a while and I haven't come to any conclusion what-so-ever.

Phi=(1+sqrt(5))/2
Psi=(1-sqrt(5))/2=1-Phi

In addition:
Phi - 1 = Psi
1/Phi = Psi (and, of course, 1/Psi = Phi)

um... Neither of those statements was true. Check your math.

Actually those statements are true.
Phi - 1 == 1/Phi == Psi

Its an interesting characteristic of Phi.

Actually:
1/Phi = Phi-1 = -Psi
So the two posts ago should have been:
Phi-1 = -Psi
1/Phi = -Psi

Don't forget Psi is negative...

1/phi = phi-1 is an interesting start for calculating phi... we tried it in sixth grade... mathcounts was a very special time (don't bother pointing out that mathcounts is only for 7th/8th graders)

umm....mathcounts is only for 7th/8th graders

Hardy Har Har......

I rember being on the mathcounts team. we got first place in the chapter, i myself got fourth indviule. my school actualy had two teame both of witch placed. we won 5 of the 8 trophies.

_\ / |)
|otta|)yte

I don't care if this 2001, but our team got like 20th. I got 5th. too bad I didn't make state.

Not Open Humor, Oppenheimer.

Oh, I just love these number days (although I'm still disappointed we didn't celebrate April 2nd...)! Now, it's time for more of, "Grant Babbles Meaninglessly About Useless Number Theory Somewhat Related to Today's Date." Joy!

Since no one has taken the opportunity to write a definition of phi and examples of it's many uses, I shall start with that:

Phi=(1+sqrt(5))/2=1.6180339887.....

This is very similar to Psi:

Psi=(1-sqrt(5))/2=-.6180339887

The best use (and in fact the original use) of phi is in the Golden Rectangle. For this reason, phi is commonly refered to as the Golden Ratio. A Golden Rectangle is a rectangle drawn with side lengths in the ration 1:N (N>1) such that removing a square (with side length equal to the length of the shorter side) from one side, the sides of the remaining rectangle are also in the ration 1:N. (That makes a lot more sense if you look at a picture.) Based on that definition, we obtain the following proportion:

1/N = (N-1)/1

Rearanging gives us:

0=N^2-N-1

Which we solve to reveal that N equals (you guessed it) phi or psi. Since psi is negative, it is not a terribly practical side length for a rectangle. Hence, phi is the Golden Ratio.

What the heck does that prove? Quite a bit actually. The Greeks found that most of nature is somehow linked with the Golden Ratio. For example, the human body can be drawn nested in a series of Golden Rectangles. The face is an excellent example. Most Greek art displays this perfection. Renaissance artists revisited this classic ideal.

Furthurmore, spirals found in nature also display this ratio. Drawing lines tangent to the curve and perpendicular with each other results in a boxed off spiral. The line segments in this spiral are in the Golden Ratio. The best example of a "perfect" spiral in nature is a seashell. Spirals also have a connection to Fibbonacci, which I will get to later.

There are many more examples of this perfection in nature. Examples include branches on trees (Fractals!) and sunflowers (Fibbonacci!). I highly recommend seeing the movie, "Donald in Mathemagic Land." I know it sounds stupid, but it has a great deal of interesting information in it, including an excellent explanation of the Golden Ratio.

Back to spirals. Look at a sunflower. The seeds sprial outward rather than being in little nested circles. Better still, look at the seeds in each "level." There's 1, then 1, then 2, then 3, then 5...etc. Recognize it? Of course, Fibbonaci! Why this happens is fairly obvious if you look at the structure of the sunflower. It's hard to describe; I was serious when I said to go look at one.

It gets better, the sunflower's spiral is one of those "perfect" spirals. The Golden Ratio is in there too! Isn't math fun? It gets better still! (Oh, the excitement!) This is great! There's a formula relating Fibbonaci with phi and psi! How cool! Here it is. The Nth Fibbonaci number is equal to:

(phi^N - psi^N)/sqrt(5)

Oh, this is just too awesome! Aren't you having fun? Oh, admit it... You want more. Well, for now, this will have to be it. But I will write more in a reply to this message if I have time. Until then...

This has been another installment of, "Grant Babbles Meaninglessly About Useless Number Theory Somewhat Related to Today's Date." Thank you.

Ooh boy! I sure do love math now, Mr. Narrator!

---Very good Donald.

Quack Quack!

I haven't seen that movie in years!!! Does anyone know if I can rent it or buy it?

Donald in Mathamagic land...yes...itz still available.

Oh jeez, I saw it in school like a month ago. Pretty good video.

All right! Phi Day's on my birthday! Cool!

If phi is 1.61803398874989484820458683436564, shouldn't phi day be January 61st (1.61) instead of June 18th (618)? I mean, pi day (3.14159265358979323846264338327 9502884197169399375105820974944) is March 14th (3.14), not January 41st (141). Then again, maybe phi day should be January 6th. Oh well. This is all too arbitrary.

And e day is February 78th.

Please look at a calendar and tell me if a February 78th exists. ;)

--BlueCalx

Actually, using that logic, e day would be February 71, not 78 - e ~
2.718281828459045235360287471352 66249775724709369995957496696762 77240766303535475945713821785251 66427427466391932003059921817413...

Maybe just February 7th?

we'll just pretend it's 1/phi day... or -psi day :P

It probably has something to do with the fact that 3/14 and 6/18 exist but 1/41 and 1/61 do not.

Another question: Why is Mole Day October 23 (10^23)instead of June 2 (6.02)? I think it's because, in June, students are too focused on the end of the school year to care about a mathematical constant day.