a broken nautilus

something about this pattern reminds me of a nautilus shell, which reminds me that the nautilus shell has been associated for years with the mathematical concept of phi, or the divine proportion, and yet it has since been proven that, while the nautilus shell does grow based on an algorithmic progression, it does not grow based on the divine proportion, although the divine proportion does appear to exist in some important way in nature, like the way that sunflower seeds are packed into their heads. my point is that the nonconforming thing is often the beautiful thing. and this shape, which is not a nautilus, and does not quite display the divine proportion, is beautiful to me because it exists somewhere between pattern and randomness. there. that’s what i was trying to say.

prairie tall grass leaves