I think it was discovered. As chuck points out it is one thing in a long list of things that are explanatory of the way reality works. We didn't invent it and then suddenly circles maintained that relationship. It was the other way 'round. I think a more interesting ratio is Phi and its cousin the fibonacci sequence. The fact is that none of those things really exists in nature but they are a mathematically perfect mean to describe sets of things found in nature.
For example a Nautilus shell only mostly follows the golden ratio, but it is close enough to be fascinating to me. Same can be said of the whorls of branches around an evergreen. I don't see it as a sign of a designer so much as a nod to the fractal nature of the universe.
For example a Nautilus shell only mostly follows the golden ratio, but it is close enough to be fascinating to me. Same can be said of the whorls of branches around an evergreen. I don't see it as a sign of a designer so much as a nod to the fractal nature of the universe.