2. Creepy Math

3. Okay, it’s not that creepy, but it is a little weird.

4. Some mathematicians were into some pretty unusual stuff.

5. One of the first great mathematicians was Pythagoras. He lived in Greece around 500 BC. He did a lot with geometry.

6. But he was also the founder of a mystical order called the Pythagorean Brotherhood. They studied something called Sacred Geometry, which they believed was the key to the universe. The Sacred spiral

7. It’s pretty complicated stuff, but they may have been onto something because…

8. …in the early 13 th century, a mathematician named Fibonacci came up with a mathematical sequence that, when charted out, bore a remarkable resemblance to the sacred spiral. This sequence turned out to have a lot to do with nature, like how plants grow and even how bees reproduce. Don’t believe that? Click here to find out more

9. Look familiar?

10. The sequence goes like this: 1,1,2,3,5,8 The next number is: 13 You add the previous two numbers to get the next one. Click circle to see

11. Another interesting guy was Dr. John Dee. He lived in England in the 16 th century.

12. In addition to being a highly regarded mathematician, he was also a noted occultist and the personal astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I.

13. ASTROLOGY IS USING THE STARS TO PREDICT THE FUTURE. Occultism is the study of things like magic and alchemy.

14. So why would a prominent mathematician bother with things like astrology and occultism?

15. Actually, lots of scholars back then studied things that we consider to be superstition today. And so many mathematical discoveries were made as a result of studying the heavens that math and astrology came to be associated with each other.

16. Dee and his partner, Edward Kelley, developed these things called the Enochian Calls, which they claimed allowed them to talk to angels.

17. But even better than that, he was also a spy.

18. In the 16 th century, occultists were celebrities. European nobles loved having them as guests in their castles.

19. That gave Dee access to lots of important people who knew lots of important things that Queen Elizabeth could use.

20. Dee lived a pretty exciting life for a guy usually described as being quiet and thoughtful, huh?

21. Our last creepy mathematician is someone you all know and love: Charles Dodgson

22. You probably know him by the name Lewis Carroll

23. His original occupation was teaching math at Oxford.

24. But in addition to math and writing children’s books and great poems, he was also a founding member of the Society for Psychic Research that is still around today.

25. They investigate things like ghosts and psychic powers.

26. He was also a student of Theosophy, which is a mystical philosophy. This is their symbol.

27. See, not all mathematicians are as boring as you thought, are they?

28. Click on the picture to go back to your favorite creepy mathematician