On Thu, 31 Aug 1995, Gordon Scott wrote:
 
> Throw a handfull of matching sized ballbearings into a
> tray and look at the pattern that naturally results.
>
> Consider that nature likes efficiency.
>
> Put your hand on your heart, look me straight in the virtual
> eye, and tell me that nature isn't just being efficient here!
>
> BTW, Social wasp's nests have a similar hexagonal pattern.
 
 
I can't remember where I learned it, but, just as Gordon Scott indicates,
the hexagon appears to be the most efficient shape for packing the
greatest number of units (in this case, cells) into a given area.
Nature, at least non-human nature, does seem to abhor inefficiency.
 
Tom Culliney
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