Dan Brown and the Fibonacci

Dan Brown and the Fibonacci Sequence

In the novel the Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown uses the Fibonacci sequence (in a scrambled version) as one of the clues left for the cryptographer (Rogak, 2005). It is something in the book that many people would probably not catch, and that a large number of people do not understand because they are not familiar with what it actually represents. There have been many instances of the Fibonacci sequence being used in books and movies, but Brown's novel became highly popular and that made the Fibonacci sequence popular, too. Overall, Brown did not make a big deal out of the number sequence. He simply put it in the book and let everyone else do what they wanted to with it. Once people started talking about it, it became nearly a household discussion - at least among those who had read Brown's book. Some of those who had not read the book saw the movie, and the talk spread from that point. It continues today, even though the idea behind the book is not new.

The original Fibonacci sequence was actually named for Leonard of Pisa (Beck & Geoghegan, 2010). He introduced the sequence to the Western world in 1202 (Beck & Geoghegan, 2010). Leonard of Pisa was not the original creator of the sequence, however, because it was also seen in mathematics that came from India. One of the most significant issues with the Fibonacci sequence is that it appears naturally in many different settings in biology (Beck & Geoghegan, 2010). Pine cones, branching trees, pineapples, artichokes, and many other natural items follow the Fibonacci sequence perfectly, without fail. It is easy to see why Brown used it in his book, because it provides an interesting sequence of numbers that can be used as a clue for almost anything. However, Brown used the sequence incorrectly in a sense. He also alienated some people with the book, because Catholics and other religious individuals found the themes in it to be inappropriate and uncomfortable for the beliefs they held (Rogak, 2005).

He placed it in the book out of order, and that was designed to show that the information in that message was also out of order. The numbers are also used as a combination that unlocks a safe (Rogak, 2005). While the way the Fibonacci sequence is used makes sense for the story Brown is telling, anyone who is familiar with the origins of the sequence will realize that it is traditionally not used in that way and that the way Brown used it is not what the sequence is for in a more complicated sense. Because Fibonacci numbers are so common in nature, they are also being used in man-made creations such as internet search engines (Beck & Geoghegan, 2010). Additionally, they are used in music to determine tuning and in art to show size or length of some formal elements (Beck & Geoghegan, 2010). Many people find the Fibonacci sequence fascinating because it occurs so often naturally. There must be a reason behind that, and there are all kinds of different arguments about why the Fibonacci numbers were seen biologically so frequently.