And It Goes Like This: 0-1-1-2-3-5-8
By MOTOKO RICH
Published: April 14, 2006
The "Fib" — so named by GottaBook blogger Gregory K. Pincus — is a tightly written poem that uses the Fibonacci sequence as its inspiration.
The Fibonacci progression is a mathematical formula that starts with 0 and 1 and then continues to add numbers that are equal to the sum of the previous two numbers. Thus, the first seven numbers in the sequence are: 0-1-1-2-3-5-8.
To write a Fib, a more complicated version of the classic, highly constrained haiku, the poet composes a six-line poem that has the correct number of syllables in each line corresponding to each digit in the sequence. (The real first line of each Fib is silence.)
Johanna Wasylik, who lives on a farm in Alberta and home schools her three children, said the Fib form was simple enough for her kids to write poems. "It's much easier for even a young child to come up with something that sounds pretty good and to be pleased with it," she said. Her 8-year-old daughter wrote:
Cat
Sun
Lying
On the deck
Curled up, tail wrapped 'round
I think she's having lots of fun
For those who understand no explanation is needed, ...For those who don't none will.
