Everywhere that we look, we see things being contained. Our bodies are covered with our largest organ, the skin. We rely on our eyes to provide us with more vital information than any other sense. Scientists, too, rely on their vision and powers of observation to increase their knowledge of the structure and function of our universe. But even though our eyes are among the most highly developed of all the animals, they are actually quite limited.
Patterns are trends, such as radioactive decay and the colonization of intertidal zones.
They are cycles, changes occuring over time, such as life cycles, seasonal cycles, planetary cycles and tidal cycles. There are even irregular patterns such as the predator-prey relationship and plant succession events. Recognizing a pattern can help us make predictions about what happens next. Humankind has always had a fascination with rhythms.