Many wonder why broccoli, to some people, is troublesome in taste but undeniably beautiful in appearance, and researchers found a reason for it.
Indeed, according to Salon.com, "broccoli is a divisive vegetable," although visually, one would find it very difficult to find someone who does not see "Romanesco broccoli aesthetically beautiful."
Also called "Romanesco" for short, this is a broccoli breed that looks similar to a "giant green bloom" that has flowers in oddly "perfect geometric patterns" that's self-repeating when zoomed in.
Additionally, this has been described as the "nautilus shell of vegetables," a perfect, constantly-repeating spiral, resurfacing over and over.
Considered late fall and winter vegetables, the Romanesco broccoli is available in most grocery stores across the United States this time of the year, attracting shoppers with its striking patterns.
Fractal Patterns
Such patterns are also called fractals and they are essential when it comes to understanding Romanesco broccoli.
According to the University of Arkansas mathematics professor Edmund Harris, a fractal is a shape or structure that's similar to "itself at different scales." Meaning, the professor explained, as one zooms-in, he sees a similar, or at times, related structure.
Harris also said, in the natural world, sometimes, plants approximate these self-repeating patterns. For example, many ferns have leaves which display fractal architecture. In relation to this, spiral nautilus shells, pinecones and ice crystals have self-repeating patterns, too.
However, among these self-repeating patterns appearing in living things, Romanesco broccoli is seemingly a fractal par excellence.
According to Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science professor, Zachary Stansell, Romanesco broccoli is "thought of as the quintessential model of fractal architecture in biology."
It is known to have been exhibiting a very unique and recursive pattern of growth compared with the normal broccoli also known as Calabrese.
Golden Ratio Mathematical Concept
One of the oldest mathematical concepts, the Golden Ratio, with a value of roughly 1.618, is said to be the ratio between two objects with different sizes in which this report on Romanesco specifies, the "smaller one is to the larger, as the larger one is to the sum of both."
As lecturer John Edmark, from the Stanford University's mechanical engineering and design program said, the Golden Ratio takes place if one "takes a line and divide it into two different lengths."
Edmark also noted that there is just one ratio that can meet that requirement, which is the Golden Ratio, and it is "1.618 and it goes on infinitely."
The Golden Ration has a background story, traced all the way back to Euclid, an ancient Greek mathematician. Artists, architects, musicians and engineers have used it to incorporate into their respective skills, talents and abilities. Some even believe it can be applied to explain beauty and know further how life is designed in nature.
The spiral pattern on this broccoli displays the golden ratio, in that every small bud that's growing outward from the main one has a similar ratio size along with its predecessor, Golden Ratio in particular.
Meaning, the same formula that's governing the appearance of the Romanesco broccoli was found to be exploited in their canvases by artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Piet Mondrian.
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