Patterns in Nature

Regularity and order pervade in the natural world both living and non-living. To help understand the complexity of the natural world, we make use of simple rules called “patterns.” In this class we will examine how similar shapes and patterns recur again and again in the natural world in systems that have nothing to do with one another, and that the concept of symmetry is the underlying “scientific language” for describing patterns and form. We will review patterns that are spiral in nature, patterns that occur in waves and dunes, patterns in bubbles and foams, and the myriad patterns of spots and stripes of animals that frequent the African plains. Finally, we will also discuss patterns that are fractal in nature, i.e., a structure that repeats itself again and again at smaller scales. Our discussion of patterns will draw on the visual, and not the underlying mathematics.