What do art, architecture, the lungs of animals, the head of a sunflower, and
a spiral galaxy share in common?
Doctor James R Paulson will answer that question in his second Bucket Course presentation of the fall series entitled “The Golden Cut…The story of Phi, the World’s Most Interesting Number…or, is God a Mathematician?”
The session will be held at the Caulkins room of Drake Community Library on November 2 from 10:00-11:30 a.m. The session is free and open to the public.
Commenting about the course, Paulson says, “The number 1.61…is called by the Greek letter phi. This number has been studied for hundreds of years not only by mathematicians but by biologists, musicians, and architects among others. It’s quite intriguing.” He adds that audience members need not have any special mathematical skills in order to appreciate the topic.
Paulson gained his MD at Michigan State University and moved to Grinnell in 1981with his wife, Linda, and their two sons. In addition to his family practice, he served as hospice medical director for thirty-eight years, joined his wife in running Marsh House, a B and B, for twenty-four years and likes to stay active physically and mentally. He has offered numerous Bucket Courses over the years on a variety of subjects.
The Bucket Courses are open to everyone in the community; no preregistration or fee required. Donations toward refreshments are welcome.
Members of the sponsoring Community Education Cooperative include Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Grinnell College, Drake Community Library, Grinnell-Newburg School District, Grinnell Area Arts Council, Mayflower Community, Grinnell Education Partnership, Read to Lead, and Iowa Valley Community College.
Videos of previous Bucket Courses are available on the YouTube channel Grinnell
Community Education Cooperative.
