His name was Leonardo; son of Guilielmo Bonacci. He was born around 1170 in Pisa, Italy and when he published his first book of mathematics he followed the custom of the day and melded his name with the place of his birth. He became Leonardo of Pisa. He later “streamlined” that into the simpler Leonardo Pisano. However, those who knew him as a member of the Bonacci clan took to calling him “filius Bonacci” (Latin for son of Bonacci) and then simply “fi’Bonacci” (a shorter way of saying the same thing). Eventually the name melded with itself; becoming one of the most recognized names in mathematics.
For over 800 years his name has transcended time. It is known not only to mathematicians, but also to those outside the field, and most amazingly, to people residing in totally unrelated walks of life.
Fibonacci… and his famous series of integers: The Fibonacci numbers. They are a series of integers that begin with the number one repeated twice. After that, each number in the series is simply the sum of the two numbers preceding it. The construction of this series is a simple matter. What is astonishing however, is what these numbers bring to the table. They make available a multifaceted mathematical foundation for the natural world around us. Some call these numbers a melding of nature and the truth that is mathematics. Others refer to them as the signature of God.
I accept both as being true.
Fibonacci himself said little though. For all of his many contributions to Mathematics, his most famous, the one that now carries his name, meant very little in his time. It took 600 years for the importance of the Fibonacci numbers to become apparent.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
~ Carl Sagan
[The Fibonacci numbers are Nature's numbering system. They appear everywhere in Nature, from the leaf arrangement in plants, to the pattern of the florets of a flower, the bracts of a pinecone, or the scales of a pineapple. The Fibonacci numbers are applicable to the growth of every living thing, including a single cell, a grain of wheat, a hive of bees, and even all of mankind ~ Stan Grist]
