1.618

"7. Looking for patterns, here, there and everywhere.

Our brains are exceptionally good at finding patterns, and it’s a good thing they are because sometimes tracking a pattern (like figuring out the telltale signs of a man-eating cat in the area) is indispensable to survival. The problem is that our brains keep the pattern detection engine on all the time, which makes us susceptible to turning meaningless patterns (coincidences, etc.) into monumental events.

What to do: Simply be aware that your brain is always looking for patterns, and develop the discipline to separate a meaningful pattern from a meaningless one."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddi...macking-you-around-and-what-to-do-about-them/




The recognition that our minds are first class 'pattern seeking' machines is becoming more prevalent.

Golden Ratios may be more appealing to our vision, because there is an underlying logic.

Jackson Pollocks 'Blue Poles', and other of his abstract works, seem to have an 'organised randomness' that matches patterns in nature.



"Apparently "Jack the Dripper" captured some aesthetic dimension—some abiding logic in human perception—beyond the scope of his critics. That logic, says physicist and art historian Richard Taylor, lies not in art but in mathematics—specifically, in chaos theory and its offspring, fractal geometry. "

http://discovermagazine.com/2001/nov/featpollock

Most boatbuilders and designers ( Phil Bolger excepting ) seem to put a lot of emphasis on the 'look' of a vessel, and are probably more artists than physicists, seeking an aesthetic solution before a functional one.

 

Phil Bolger put a lot of emphasis on aesthetics when aesthetics were fundamental to the mission of the vessel. A number of his earlier designs such the ship Rose, the "Whitehall" Victoria and the "Friendship sloop" Monhegan. But Phil could also drop aesthetics down the priority list in favor of other considerations when appropriate, and he later appeared to find meeting challenging, non-aesthetic requirements more rewarding than simple aesthetics.

 

RW,
I think I'm starting to see a pattern in your posts...

 

These two classic jokes approach such a quote from the opposite ends, so to speak...

"I think I feel a Jackson Pollock coming on." -- Kryten, Red Dwarf

Did you hear about the mathematician with constipation? He worked it out with a slide rule.

 

More patterns...

 

1.618034

In compressible flow calculations and heat exchanger design (large parts of my engineering career for the last 45 years), I use this number often. Mother Nature, (considered as an automatic designer of optimized structures through the trial and error process some call "evolution") ends up producing many living things where the golden ratio number is demonstrated. The structure of plants, trees, and many other natural things have been shown to follow this ratio.

As to the gory (and nerd like) engineering details: When designing heat transfer equipment, compromises and tradeoffs are always applied. Trying for maximum heat transfer efficiency results in a heat exchanger that is far too large and expensive. Compromising the heat transfer surface area against the driving temperature differentials is necessary, and very often the best compromise involves the ratio of 1.618, or its reciprocal, 0.618

Compressible flow equations are somewhat complex, and for gas flow pipelines with pressure drops only a small fraction of the pipeline absolute pressure, a simple incompressible flow equation is often used as a reasonable approximation.

For example, a pipeline with 500 PSIA inlet pressure, 100 PSI pressure drop, and 400 PSIA outlet pressure. Many engineers use the average gas density in the equations, based on conditions of 450 PSIA gas properties. However if the gas properties are based on the weighted average (with the golden ratio 1.618), the answer is very much closer to truth. In this example the gas properties at 61.8 PSI pressure reduction (500 - 0.618*100) = 438.2 PSIA gives answer error that is one or two orders of magnitude better than using the average properties.

 

As much as I wish I could afford a yacht as big as my silly streak I have to sadly confess I might possibly be able to afford one comparable to the quality of my jokes.

 

Ahhh, so that's the connection.
Now I get it.
Funny...