Reply by ChuckV

This number appears all over the place. It has this fun property:
G – 1/G = 1

You can try this in a calculator:
G = 1.6180339887498948482045868343656
1/G = 0.6180339887498948482045868343656

I think of the ratio like this. Divide a line segment into two pieces so that the ratio of the whole line to the larger piece is the same as the ratio of the larger piece to the smaller piece.

There is plenty of information online. Here is the Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

-- "Too much hurry ruins the body. I'll sit easy … fan the spark" - I. Anderson