Kirby,
You are right, a little program does help to clarify the statement and the formulas involved. But then, keep it really simple (no classes, no generators), so that understanding of the code doesn't get in the way. For example:
from math import sqrt
rt5 = sqrt(5)
phi = (1 + rt5)/2
def neat_formula(f0, f1, f2):
return (f0 + f2 + rt5*f1)/2
power_of_phi = phi**(-6)
f0, f1, f2 = 13, -8, 5
for k in range(20):
print("{0:8.5f} {1:8.5f}".format(power_of_phi, neat_formula(f0, f1, f2)))
f0, f1, f2 = f1, f2, f1+f2
power_of_phi *= phi
There are many other occasions to bring in more advanced tools.
Gary Litvin
www.skylit.com