phi and me

Pi, π, which is rounded to 3.14159, is a constant number that deals with circles. π r2 is the area of a circle... you might remember having learnt that in senior school, or you might still be trying to forget it 😊.

­­­­­­­

But there’s another constant number, phi, φ which is rounded to 1.618 and, depending on whether you believe in God or not, is called the Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio. It appears everywhere in nature, from the spirals in shells to the shape of galaxies. In the human body, just as an example, the length of the human forearm is 1.618 times the length of the hand (go on, measure yours and see😉). 

In my particular area of interest, the human face, it describes the proportional sizes and positioning of teeth to get ‘natural look’ fillings, crowns or dentures;

it describes the age-appropriate relationship of upper to lower lip and middle to upper and lower face, guiding my volumizing for ‘natural look’ cheeks and lips; 

it tells me what the shape and position of the natural eyebrows ought to be after wrinkle reduction treatments in the forehead ... and many, many more things relating to form and proportion.

Phi, φ, is found in art, music, mathematics, architecture and so on and so on.

Some see all this as an interesting coincidence, while others see it as evidence of an orderly universe set in motion by a rational Supreme Being whom many would call God.

So, 3 things I love about phi φ

It helps me identify what is aesthetically natural for each patient I have the privilege of treating

It points to an intelligently created universe

AND ... it looks like my initials φ