MOST MAGICALLY MAGICAL MAGIC SQUARES

IN THIS ARTICLE

Magic squares are conspicuous instances of the intrinsic harmony of numbers. They are also noticeable instances of the inherent harmony of numbers that some consider an interpreter of the cosmic order that dominates all existence. Can they?

Magic Squares are square grids with a unique arrangement of numbers in them. These numbers are exceptional because every row, column, and diagonal adds to the same number.

Throughout history, humanity has been influenced by mathematics and numbers and has tried to reveal the unknowns by investigating the mysteries of numbers. Humanity’s long-time fascination with mathematics has arisen because the universe is constructed from a mathematical fabric.

No science teaches the harmonies of nature more clearly than mathematics. In arithmetic, we explore a universe of figures by counting; in geometry, we discover another universe by drawing lines and laying down definite directions in the conceptual field of the imagination; in algebra, we produce magnitudes of a still more abstract nature that are expressed by letters. In all of these cases, the first step is to establish the general conditions that lay down the rules which all further steps are subject to. Each of these “universes” is dominated by a consistency that produces excellent symmetry.

Indeed, the world, the universe, and nature can be reliably understood using mathematics. In other words, nature is mathematics. For instance, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower can be understood using Fibonacci numbers. Every number in the Fibonacci sequence equals the sum of the previous two numbers except for the first two. Sunflower heads, like other flowers, contain two families of interlaced spirals — one winding clockwise, the other counterclockwise. The shape assumed by a delicate spider web suspended from fixed points, or the cross-section of sails bellying in the wind, is a catenary — a simple curve defined by a simple formula. Seashells, animal horns, and the cochlea of the ear are logarithmic spirals that can be generated using a mathematical constant known as the golden ratio. Mountains and the branching patterns of blood vessels and plants are fractals, a class of shapes that exhibit similar structures at different magnifications. Einstein’s E = mc2 defines the fundamental relationship between energy, matter, and the speed of light. Additionally, a few simple constants — the gravitational constant, Planck’s…