What is the Golden Ratio?
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The Golden Ratio is the number used when two quantities are divided in a way that their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger one of the two quantities. That number is 1.618, also called Phi.

The easiest way to demonstrate this is by using the Fibonacci Sequence. Without going into too much detail, this sequence is the sum of the two numbers before it. So: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21…forever and ever (and ever). Back in the day, the Greeks used the Fibonacci Sequence to form a visual pattern to aid their designs. When you turn the sequence into squares and lay them side-by-side to create rectangles, a spiral (called the Golden Spiral) starts to form.

Don’t let a few equations scare you off! The Golden Ratio is actually a lot simpler than it looks. And it’s found everywhere. The Golden Spiral appears in nature all around us. From hurricanes to flowers, galaxies to shells… and even those weird mutant cauliflowers you get at the grocery store sometimes.