fractals

Blue Spiral (Fractal) Art Poster Print - 24" X 36"
$4.98
You are looking at a great poster. It is perfect for framing or hanging on the wall -- and it makes a great gift. This poster measures approx. 24" x 36" and is perfect, unused, and rolled in a protective tube.

NOVA: Fractals - Hunting the Hidden Dimension
$24.95
"The book of nature is written in mathematics." Galileo

A tree, a bush, a cauliflaur, a brain, a lung system, what all these organic structures share in common is the use of repeating patterns to create a whole that in its macroscopic view is just like its microscopic view.

Called fractals they have also been employed mathematically to describe forces of nature and also knowledge itself.

In one of my very favorite quotes of all time, the late Isaac Asimov observed that "Knowledge has a fractal like structure. No matter how much we learn, whatever remains, no matter how seemingly small, is infinitely complex."

Amazingly though artists had already informally discovered them, fractals came to the fore mathematically only in 1979 when Benoit Mandlebroit began writing about them and their ubiquity in nature. Mandlebroit had been a Jew trapped in France during WWII. He had survived to quickly earn his Phd. and then acquire a reputation as an academic very willing to follow his own hunches.

Lucky for us Mandlebroit overcame early disdain for his discovery and pursued fractal research zealously. As alluded earlier in this notice, examples of both organic and inorganic uses of fractals have dominated research since 1979.

For its part this DVD does an excellent job of discussing the history and various applications of fractals and it also inspires the viewer to further study and exploration of this important area of mathematics which actually turns out to be an example of creation itself.

While nature's "book" may be written in mathematics, this DVD at least allows you to view a synopsis of this chapter on film.

Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension (Blu-ray) [Blu-ray]
$29.95
I was aware of Fractals in general as we all are. However this presentation takes it to new heights. We learn that it is more about math. We get to see how fractals are not only a part of nature but fractals actually have practical applications and potentials for future disciplines.

If you do not personally apply the information at least you will be fractal literate. Me, I am going to buy some of Benoit Mandelbrot's books. The first one mentioned in the DVD is out of print (rare). Then I was surprised to see that fractals were applied to woven fabrics. I wonder if there is a pattern book or if I will have to make my own drafts?

I only saw the Blu-ray version so I cannot compare. The pictures are crisp but not over enhanced. The rare, very few to nil, extras on the DVD as it is a direct copied of the NOVA program, including the sponsors.

Harrisville Floor Loom 22/4 22" 4 Harness "Little Workhorse" 6 Treadles

The Fractal Geometry of Nature
$30.00
This book is the latest version of a book the famous Benoit Mandelbrot wrote back in the mid-1970s, in which he coined the term "fractal". The subsequent version was released around 1980 and had, among other pictures, a black blotchy image on a white background which he called "the ?-map". Then some joker started calling it "The Mandelbrot Set" and he had to change the book again.

It is true that this is not the best-written book on fractal geometry. However, for a time it was the ONLY book on fractal geometry, and as such has incredible historic value. Imagine in ancient Greece where people had to borrow one of Euclid's latest scrolls to read about things found in no other work.

Personally, this book has taught me only a few things. I had already learned about fractals from articles in 1980s issues of Scientific American, and computer programs in Compute! magazine.

Many black-and-white images suffuse this tome, though there are some color plates which are by no means as complex as today's fractallographies, but will serve as an introduction to the genre.

The only Mandelbrot Set image is the blotchy one mentioned earlier. That's because Dr. Mandelbrot, though he discovered the set, wasn't the first to color the complement, and it was Heinz-Otto Peitgen's 1984 book "The Beauty of Fractals" that has the first color Mandelbrot pictures.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book for a glimpse into history, and the uninitiated may learn something as well; though I wouldn't demand that much of it.