And yet! Everything in the universe, whether living or inert, is subject to the laws of physics. Living things are also subject to the pressures of evolution. And, mystics notwithstanding, these two factors are enough to explain configurations based, "roughly speaking," on ratios "more or less close" to φ. Over the past few decades, interdisciplinary studies combining mathematics, physics and biology have been conducted. They show that, far from seeking any kind of perfection in its ratios, the living world simply obeys a set of laws (see, for example, La Physique des spirales végétales by Stéphane Douady and Yves Coudert, La Recherche 250, January 1993). It is humankind that ascribes to nature a certain notion of perfection, then readily identifies it with mathematics. We should not forget that mathematics is found not in nature but in our minds. It is the ingenious tool we have devised to better understand and manage our environment.
