Filmmaker Cristóbal Vila illustrates the mathematic principles that underpin life in this short animation inspired by numbers, geometry, and the natural world. He explains the theory behind each sequence on his website.

It's worth noting that Vila admits to taking "artistic license" with the relationship between the golden ratio and the structure of the nautilus. If you'd like to read more about the persistent myths of the golden ratio in nature, do read this essay by Samuel Arbesman—published, fittingly enough, by the science quarterly Nautilus.

(via Aeon Film)

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