Patterns in Nature
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Have you ever noticed how patterns pervade in various aspects of your life? There are patterns in music, in art, in architecture, in poems, and even in prayer.
Do you notice the in and out patterns in your breathing or the up and down ECG (electrocardiograph) patterns of your heart?
More on Sleep Patterns
You also have sleep-wake patterns and even patterns within sleep itself.
We see, hear, smell, and touch patterns. I’m not sure if we can taste patterns though. Maybe the food tasters can tell us.
What are Patterns?
What comes to your mind when the word ‘patterns’ is mentioned? - “repetition”, right?
Patterns are things that repeat over and over. The repetition can be in objects, or behaviour, or action. Thus, repeated lines on your writing pad are patterns. Repeated buttons on your shirt are patterns. The hairs on your brow are patterns. Even the laugh lines on your face are patterns.
Patterns are as easy to recognize as the yellow polka dots in the bikini or the stripes on the zebra’s skin. But patterns can also be hard to notice when they involve your behaviour or action unless you sort of stand back and observe or somebody else points out the behaviour to you. Thus, maybe, you did not notice that you always run your fingers through your hair every time you are nervous. This is a pattern.
How Many Patterns Are There?
Just how many patterns are there? As many as the stars in the sky, maybe?
Just to satisfy my curiosity, I typed ‘patterns’ in my Google search, and this is what I got:
Wow! And I haven’t even typed ‘patterns in nature’ yet! So, the number of patterns is really almost limitless. No wonder, people love patterns.
paterns in mundane things
Discovering Patterns in Mundane Things
You see patterns almost everywhere. There are patterns in your bedroom – just look at your blanket or your comforter. Their designs always exhibit certain patterns like flowers or stripes or zigzags or circles.
Get out of your room and look at the things in your family room – did you notice the patterns in the folds of your curtains? What about the way your books are arranged on the bookshelf? Or the way your cds or albums are stacked?
Now, go out of your house and look around you. What do you see now? Did you notice the pattern on your door? What about the pattern in your garden or on your pavement?
Yes we see patterns everywhere. But what I’m going to focus on this time, are patterns in nature.
Discovering Patterns in Nature
Human beings throughout history have looked for patterns in nature and natural phenomena. Observed patterns become the basis for mathematical formulae and these formulae enable us to make predictions about certain things.
For example, Aldof Zeising, a German psychologist whose main interests were mathematics and philosophy, observed that branches of trees or veins in the leaves follow a certain pattern. He also noted that this pattern is seen in the veins and nerves of the human body. He noticed that this pattern follows a certain ratio, which he called as the Golden Ratio.
According to him, “The Golden Ratio is a universal law in which is contained the ground-principle of all formative striving for beauty and completeness in the realms of both nature and art, and which permeates, as a paramount spiritual ideal, all structures, forms and proportions, whether cosmic or individual, organic or inorganic, acoustic or optical; which finds its fullest realization, however, in the human form”.
Isn’t this neat? A universal law that explains why structures follow certain patterns that leads to beauty and completeness?
This ratio also comes in other names such as: The Golden Mean, Phi, The Divine Section, The Golden Section, The Golden Cut, The Golden Proportion, and The Divine Proportion. Whatever the name is, the ratio is approximately 1.618 and you can observe this in the petals of a flower or the symmetry of the human body.
Leonardo da Vinci extensively used patterns in his art and this symmetry of the human is immortalized in his ever popular,“Vitruvian Man”.
I
will not go into the mathematics of the Golden Ratio because most people are
turned off by numbers and formulae. I just want to say at this point that
looking for the Golden ratio especially in nature is an interesting exercise
especially if you are fond of numbers. You can follow the links at the bottom of this hub if you are mathematically inclined.
But looking for patterns that make you ask “why didn’t I see that before?” is an even better exercise.
So come and enjoy with me these patterns in nature.
More Patterns in Nature
"Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern."
- Alfred North Whithead
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Comments
Hi Jerilee,
You are the first one to visit and comment.
Thank you for the great opening salvo!
All the best!
I love a Hub that is totally original and different, great theme on the patterns and you pulled it off perfectly, well done !
Must agree with BC - it is nice to find a Hub out in leftfield - a breath of fresh air.
If you have not already, take a look at Chaos Theory - it has a lot of interesting ideas about patterns in nature!
Thanks for the read :)
Love reading this Hub! Just another confirmation that God is a God of order. I am really awed by the artistic beauty of God's creation in the natural world!
Great job, Jill, and as always, phenomenal photos!
Hi badcompany,
Thank you very much for the visit and for your kind words! I truly appreciate them.
Hello Sufidreamer,
Your comment is music to my ears!
Yes, I am familiar with Chaos Theory. There was a time in my life when I really poured over articles and books that talked about it. I simply enjoyed the fractals! I think I will write something about them once I have more fractal photos. If you noticed, my photo of the fern frond is fractal in nature.
Thank you very much for the reminder!
Hi Catlyn,
It's so nice to hear from you again. Your comment warms my heart!
You are right, God's creation is simply awesome! I am always awed by what I see every time I take my photos. And I am happy that in my own small way I can present the wonders and beauty of this creation.
Thank you very much for stopping by.
Jill - that was a delight - loved the pictures! This one spoke to the heart as I always see patterns in everything around me - so thanks!
Very fascinating! I see patterns everywhere, esp as i shoot and work with nature.
very nice.... but you have left out my favourite with which you are probably more than familiar anyway as a biologist/zoologist: fractals... the most beautiful, consistent and at the same time most complex patterns there exist, both artifically and naturally.
Jill
I love your thoughts on patterns and the pictures as always are magnificent - Piques the interest of a non-mathematical person like me in concepts of numbers.
Hi Shalini,
As always, your visit and comments make me happy and inspire me to do even better.
Thank you very much!
Hello IslandVoice,
Thank you very much for the visit and for your heartwarming comment.
I really appreciate that especially as it comes from an artist like you.
All the best!
Hi Paul,
Thank you very much for visiting and leaving a comment.
I must admit, I overlooked fractals when I wrote this. Sufidreamer also reminded me of the Chaos Theory. I really love fractals and I will surely write about them as soon as I get more fractal photos. If you notice, my fern photo is fractal in nature.
Thank you very much for the reminder.
Awesome hub! Such a breathe of fresh air as Sufi said. Such beauty and divinity in patterns. Thanks!
Hi Coffeesnob,
Thank you for dropping by my friend. I always treasure your comments and insights.
I'm also looking forward to more collaborations with you.
All the best!
Hi Jodi,
Your visit and comment are also very refreshing!
Thank you very much!
Your photos are outstanding and your writing superb. Your choice of subject matter makes each of us think beyond the norm. Thank you!!!
As a drummer, I am well acquainted with patterns—and the effect they have on people.
Your article is fresh and as always—no, you've topped yourself this time. These photos are incredible!
I surely enjoyed this page thoroughly.
Hi Peggy,
Thank you very much for your kind words. I really appreciate them!
Hello James,
You don't know how happy you make with your comment. I appreciate what you say even more because I know that you are an artist who is indeed very familiar with patterns.
Thank you very much!
What an awesome hub! There certainly are many patterns in our world and even more so in our universe that we still have yet to discover! Did you know that when mapping out the human genome, scientists found it to be the Hebrew alphabet?
Hi Dohn,
Thank you very much for your heartwarming comment!
Really? No, I did not know that the scientists found the human genome to be the Hebrew alphabet. I will certainly have to read about that. Thank you for the info.
Nice hub! what amazing patterns there are in our world. i especially love the photos :)
Hello Cygnus,
Thank you very much for dropping by and leaving an inspiring comment.
So you are interior designer, I think? creativity and imagination are the few forces that keep humans alive. I liked your hub. Thanks a lot for nice collection of pictures.
Hi Vizey,
No, I am not an interior designer. I am a photo enthusiast who loves to write.
Thank you very much for visiting and leaving a wonderful comment.
Amazing pictures--it underscores your point about pattern completely. No wonder, nature is so fascinating--patterns can be soothing and mesmerizing--like your mesmerizing close-shot of mimosa.
Nicely done.
Hello anglnwu,
Thank you very much for your kind words.
You know what, I've never paid much attention to the Mimosa flower until I started my photography adventure. The Mimosa was just something we played with when we were kids. When I learned to focus my lens on it later, I was really awed by its beauty and pattern. I just took dozens of photos from all angles! Ha ha.
Thank you very much for the visit!
It took picking up a camera and taking a class for me to start seeing all these patterns. We had an assignment to head out with our cameras and find the patterns around us. It was actually pretty fun.
Hi Camping Dan,
We have the same experience. As I said above, It was only when I started my photography adventure that I learned to pay attention to patterns around us.
There are so many things around us that we actually don't see. We look at them but we don't see them. I really learned to see when I started photography. That's why I think of myself as a photo enthusiast.
Thank you for the visit and for leaving a comment.
All the best!
You know what, too, your dozens of pictures of mimosa paid off--it's truly stunning and I'm in awe of it, or for that matter, all your pictures are frame-worthy!
Hi anglnwu,
Nice of you to check in again.
Your words are very heartwarming. I truly appreciate them.
Thank you very much! You're an angel.
God bless you!
You've got some striking photos with perceptive thoughts also. Very intriging hub, quite interesting and right down my alley...Thank you jill of...!
good stuff. people don't take the time to stop and observe the things around us. they move so fast and don't notice all there is to offer just by opening their eyes.
great of you to bring these lovely images to our attention and remind us of the beauty in life.
Hi frogyfish,
Thank you very much for your kind words. If you like to look at more photos, please check my hub about raindrops or baout nature.
Hi Dylan,
You are right, people have become too busy such that they don't have time to linger and enjoy the beauty around them.
Pattern awarenness is an important undertaking, thanks for this hub.
Hello Bob,
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a wonderful comment!
Jill, when I started reading this hub, I had no idea it would veer into sacred geometry and the golden mean. The pictures really demonstrate your points nicely. Great job.
Hello Canopygallery,
Nice of you to drop by and leave a heartwarming comment!
Thank you very much!
You inspired me Jill. Last week , we went to Danao to attend a fiesta and I found myself doing pattern photography. Thanks for being my inspiration. :)
Hi ripplemaker,
That's great! I'd love to see your photos! You made me very happy with your comment.
wow.. awesome pic.s my friend.
great job, jill. it's actually a great workshop assignment.
Just started reading you hub and had to answer your question about patterns in taste. Yes there are patterns in taste. Examples of this are flavours of cows milk that change through the season and your milk and butter flavours change as the grass and feed given to the cows changes. Another is the taste as food age. That may be unpleasant but food changes flavour in a predictable way. Some foods taste better when they have been kept for a few days. This includes beef and pheasant.
Hi nikki, blue dog and maryspeller,
Thank you very much for your visit and for leaving wonderful comments!
Sorry, I was not able to acknowledge your comments right away. We were hit by typhoon and flooding here in the Philippines and had no electricity and internet connection for a while. Even up to now, everything is not yet back to normal but we are getting there.
Nikki, your comment is awesome too!
Blue dog, you are right, nothing beats an assignment to make one more observant and take a new look at things!
Maryspeller,
Thank you very much for answering my question about patterns in taste. That is really very helpful! I'm very happy you are around to answer that!
very good. I love to look for patterns mostly in wild life and plants. Nature is very surprising, there is a lot of simetry and patterns all over
Hello sasuke,
Thank you very much for visiting and leaving a heartwarming comment! It's good to know another nature lover!
Hi, my brother is always going on about the Golden mean, or 1.618, now I can wipe the smile of his face because I can quote you! I did know what it was but could'nt explain it properly. Cheers Nell
Hello Nell,
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a wonderful comment!
That's great Nell, now you can smile with your brother.
Very unique! Love this hub!
Hello tim-tim,
Thank you for dropping by and leaving an inspiring comment!
patterns and photography
If You Want to Know More About the Golden Ratio
- Nature, The Golden Ratio and Fibonacci Numbers
Math explained in easy language, plus puzzles, games, quizzes, worksheets and a forum. For K-12 kids, teachers and parents. - Golden ratio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patterns in Nature in the News
- Labour politics: In a class of their ownGuardian Unlimited1 second ago
More than 30 years ago, the historian Eric Hobsbawm gave a lecture in which he asked why "the forward march of labour and the labour movement" had halted in the middle of the 20th century. The heart of his case was that society had changed. He cited numerous indices of the relative decline of the industrial working class and its way of life – among them that the proportion of manual workers in ...
- Gene Hijacked By HIV Ancestor Suggests New Way to Block Viral ReproductionPhysOrg1 second ago
(PhysOrg.com) -- An ancestor of the AIDS virus hijacked an entire gene, perhaps from some prehistoric cat it had infected, a gene that makes it much better able to infect humans, according to a study published online today in the journal Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. The discovery represents the first instance in which researchers have found an entire animal gene within the genome of ...
- International Team IDs Gene Expression Mediators in Moroccan PopulationsGenomeWeb News3 hours ago
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to white blood cell gene expression differences found between individuals in southern Morocco, according to a paper appearing in the early, online edition of Nature Genetics yesterday.
Jerilee Wei says:
3 months ago
Nothing beats the amazing patterns of nature to fascinate and intrigue the mind.