Outer Reaches of the Palindrome Page: 39
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that recursion involves a structure invoking an instance of itself, as is the case of how the spiral
of a mollusk's shell is formed. To quote Huntley:
The fundamental mathematical property of the equiangular (or logarithmic) spiral
corresponds precisely to the biological principle that governs the growth of the mollusk's
shell. This principle is the simplest possible: the size increases but the shell remains
always similar to itself. It grows at one end only, each increment of length being balanced
by a proportional increase of radius so that its form is unchanged. The shell grows by
accretion of material; more accurately, it accumulates rather than grows.48
This process is recursive because the instances of self-invocation occur over time through the
growth of the creature, which retains its shape but gradually increases in size, thus causing the
spiral shape. This shape has been a common occurrence in nature for millions of years.49
The spiral is a dominant structure in plant growth as well as in animal growth. Associated
with phyllotaxis, the spiral reveals itself in the pattern of florets in flowers of the composite
family, such as the sunflower.50 Not only do such florets boast a spiral, so does the slowly
twisting bark of most trees, all the way down to leaf arrangement. According to "The Curves of
Life" author Theodore Andrea Cook: "The fact that the leaves of a majority of higher plants are
arranged in a spiral sequence up the stem, whether on an elongated leafy shoot or in a spiral
rosette, as in the case of a houseleek or dandelion, is so obvious that it may be taken as a general
and fundamental phenomenon of plant-construction."51
The spiral formation is not limited to plant construction. The limbs of human beings rely
on spiral principles for rotation. To quote Cook:
Torsion has occurred during the evolution of man, and rotation occurs in his upper and
lower extremities during development; so that the upper extremity rotates outwards and39
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McConnell, Michael Constantine. Outer Reaches of the Palindrome, thesis, December 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4407/m1/42/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .