The fractals within
April 27th, 2009 | by emontero |When I’m not neck deep in reading, writing papers, cleaning my room, coding, working out, eating AND reading, and all the other activities we IT grad students do almost instinctively, I like taking some time out and recharging my batteries with some stimulating reading:
Largely because of its haunting beauty, the Mandelbrot set has become the most famous object in modern mathematics. It is also the breeding ground for the world’s most famous fractals. Since 1980, the set has provided an inspiration for artists, a source of wonder for schoolchildren, and a fertile testing ground for the science of linear dynamics.
The set itself is a mathematical artifact—an odd-shaped infinite swarm of points clustered on what is known as the “complex number plane.” Let’s try to visualize it.
I’ve always thought of fractals as the quintessential beauty champions in the math world. They’re simple, elegant and, most importantly, endless! Here’s the Mandelbrot set generated with Nova’s Design a Fractal tool:
Source: Nova
Isn’t it beautiful? Oh, by the way, if you happen to have 50 minutes to spare, watch Nova’s Hunting the Hidden Dimension. A must-watch for any self-respecting fractal lover out there.
