Mollusk and Man. The Nautilus' Relation to the Human Embryo

Six hundred meters deep, at the bottom of the ocean's floor, lies the chambered nautilus, an ancient creature. The chambered nautilus is a mollusk that dates back four-hundred fifty million years and once ruled the open waters. For those that are unfamiliar with the nautilus its most recognizable and memorable characteristic is its shell. The nautilus has a coiled shell that is lined with mother-of-pearl; it is divided into a series of larger compartments, the most recent being the one in which the creature resides. The nautilus regulates it's buoyancy through the use of a tube that runs through the walls that seperates the chambers called a siphuncle.

Right now you're wondering, "Why would this person write something about this boring creature?" The only thing about the nautilus that interests me is it's shell. The nautilus' shell forms a golden spiral. A golden spiral can be formed by placing quarter circles in each square of a golden rectangle. For more information on the golden ratio check out my node The Golden Ratio: Nature's Formula for Perfection.

These golden spirals, or logarithmic spirals, are another inherent aspect of the fascinating world of sacred geometry. What signifigance does this mollusk's shell formation hold? We ourselves, humans, too, at one point in our lives, carry on this universal trait. After conception the human embryo begins to develop and goes through about 40 different stages of development. As the embryo develops it unfolds in a spiral. This spiral is a logarithmic spiral. For those nine months we have a temporary, but significant connection with the universe.

Think about that. The fact that at a point in our lives we actually hold something in common with the universe we exist in, but even more astounding we have something in common with a mollusk. A mollusk! This creature, this bottom feeder without idea of self and has no other instinct than to survive and to reproduce. Just as I discuss in The Golden Ratio: Nature's Formula for Perfection this personalizes mathematics to such a fantastic degree. Mathematics can show our connection with a bottom feeding oceanic creature. It is much, much more than problems on a page. This manifestation exemplifies a unity like no other; this is no hollow new age religion, and it is not religious doctrine thats truth is dependent on faith.