In nature it is common to find fascinating mathematical patterns. The shapes of some plants, animals and environments make us wonder if it is possible that organisms themselves are designed in this way or if there is perhaps a mastermind behind their structure. And, from a certain perspective, it is incredible that the apparently chaotic universe is organized with such precision. Even, Albert Einstein once asked: “How is it possible that things, the product of human thought, independent of experience, fit excellently with the objects of reality?”
For many, mathematics is the language not only of nature, but of the universe. However, it is difficult to affirm this without provoking controversies and very big existential doubts, which not even science can answer yet. But that does not mean we will stop thinking about Einstein’s question and try, at least with new questions, to reflect beyond the apparent.
The usefulness of fractals
Fractals are geometric objects that maintain the same basic structure at different levels. In this way, they form a pattern that keeps their development regular. Some do not seem so clear to us because at first glance they are disordered, but they are there. The roots of are an example of this, as they grow with the same structure, although not in the same way. Other patterns are much more obvious, such as those found in snowflakes.
But why are there fractals and in nature? In the first pages of his book Mathematics in Nature, John A. Adam proposes some clues explored by various mathematicians throughout history.
It makes sense to think that if the conditions of space are relatively stable, they force things to behave stably as well. Sometimes slowly and sometimes very quickly, the universe is changing and our planet is changing too. Irrefutable proof of this is the extinction of some species of animals and plants. This means that, to survive, living beings remain similar to themselves (like fractals), in response to the environment they inhabit. If this environment were to change drastically, it is very likely that these beings would disappear (by the way, Human beings have radically modified the environment that we share with other living beings, and this has been reflected in consequences as serious as ).
Nature saves energy
Peter S. Stevens, author of Patterns in Nature, explains that the way in which nature is structured responds to the limits imposed by the three-dimensional space we inhabit and the relationship between the size of things and their functionality. This idea could be linked to one of Pat Murphy, who states that in nature patterns respond to the need to economize energy and make its use much more efficient. If a form works to make an organism survive, it replicates at multiple levels.
Who defines the patterns, designs the universe
Mathematics can describe phenomena in our world, but we cannot confirm that these occur because the universe is mathematically designed. Perhaps, mathematics is just a way to make visible the result of the relationships between the parts of this great whole that is the universe. This way of organizing the world could be the result of the same impetus that leads other living beings to behave as they do: the need to survive. Would it be risky to think that the mind behind the mathematical design of the universe is your own?