◄ WORLD V · SONNY 5DART 351 · a helldive at the net

THE TRIBONACCI 3 in — widen the window to the last three, and φ becomes 1.839…

Fibonacci sums the last two. Widen the window to the last threeT(n) = T(n−1) + T(n−2) + T(n−3) — and you get the tribonacci sequence: 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 24, 44…. Its ratios converge not to φ but to the tribonacci constant ≈ 1.8393 (the root of x³ = x² + x + 1). This is the 3 in of David's puzzle — the recurrence's window opened by one — and it generalizes: sum the last k and the limit climbs toward 2. Fibonacci is just the k=2 member of a whole ladder.

THE TECHNIQUE T(n) = T(n−1)+T(n−2)+T(n−3); the last three

The demo grows the tribonacci sequence — each term the sum of the last three — and shows the ratio climbing past φ toward 1.839: live demo


HISTORY & CREDIT Feinberg, 1963

“φ is the growth rate of ‘add the previous terms’.” — only for two terms. Three gives 1.839, four climbs higher; φ is one rung of a ladder toward 2. cited

1963 · Mark Feinberg — named the tribonacci sequence (as a 14-year-old, in the Fibonacci Quarterly).
the constant · the real root of x³ = x²+x+1, ≈ 1.8393.
the ladder · k-bonacci limits climb toward 2 as the window widens.

One more term in the window, and the golden ratio gives way to 1.839. Fibonacci was only the second rung. Feinberg 1963

RECOMMEND FOR I-13 the last-three recurrence, on the compiler

On the canonical compiler, the tribonacci sequence 0,0,1,1,2,4,7,13 gives T(7) = 13 — each term the sum of the last three (window 3):

$ i13 run g_tribonacci.i13 # T(n) = T(n-1)+T(n-2)+T(n-3) RUN OK · 678 step(s) · peak stack 4 · call depth 6 t7 = 13 window = 3 -- 3 in : the last three
Recommend: the tribonacci is the 3 in of the puzzle — Fibonacci's window widened by one, its limit climbing from φ to 1.839. i13 grows it to T(7)=13. Not a keeper (a wider recurrence is the same mechanism with more terms), but the dart that shows Fibonacci is one rung of a ladder, and pays off “3 in, 3 out” on the input side — three terms feeding each step.