FOTD -- January 04, 2011 (Rating 5) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Today's scene lies in the parent fractal that comes about when 1.4 negative parts of Z^(-1.2) are combined with 0.7 negative part of Z^(-3.3) and (1/C) is added on each iteration. The magnitude of the image lies very near the limit of math precision, so it was necessary to include the 'mathtolerance' entry in the parameter file. The name "Circle of Power" came to mind when I imagined a circle of Samurai warriors surrounding and defending the central mini- brot. The minibrot is well beyond resolution, by the way. The rating of a 5 is not all that exciting, but the calculation time of under 2 minutes will keep the time that has been wasted to a minimum if the result proves disappointing. All risk of disappointment may be eliminated by viewing the finished image on the active FOTD web site at: <http://www.emarketingiseasy.com/TESTS/FOTD/jim_muths_fotd.html> The original FOTD web site may be found at: <http://www.Nahee.com/FOTD/> but it is not up to date. I read in a book that FL gave me for Christmas that we could possibly be something known as 'Boltzmann brains', disembodied objects, not necessarily resembling human brains, but with the faculty of self-awareness, floating in an infinite, empty space known as de Sitter space. We could exist in infinite numbers because of random fluctuations in the quantum vacuum, exactly as an infinity of monkeys typing random letters on typewriters would by random accident type out an infinite number of copies of 'Hamlet' every nanosecond. (And indeed, an infinity of them could very possibly be out there actually doing it right now.) Surrounded by eternal emptiness, and with no sense organs, we floating consciousnesses could be suffering sensory deprivation and hallucinating an objective universe around ourselves, filled with stars, planets and other supposedly conscious beings. It's the stuff pure fantasy is made of, ('The Matrix' film comes to mind.) yet no one knows of a sure way to totally eliminate this absurd possibility. The author of the book avoids the trap by saying that such a condition would be cognitively unstable, leaving no sensible way to think and behave. In other words, the possibility of Boltzmann brains is fully scientific, and it just possibly might be true. A surprising consequence of having an infinity of conscious units is that the unique brain state that creates my particular individual consciousness must exist an infinity of times through- out de Sitter space. Talk about megalomania! I didn't know I was that great. But I wonder who these other versions of myself are. (Maybe it's time to get back to things that make more sense, like ghosts and goblins.) Compared to this 'scientific' craziness, the existence of para- normal things such as Astrology, telepathy, fortune telling, psychokinesis, Astral planes and even ghosts of dead people, as well as the various claims of the religious mystics, are almost rational. In my opinion, our science is out of control. It has become a discipline fit to be the subject of jokes and ridicule. Apparently, no one knows anything for sure. Maybe we truly are disembodied brains, inventing the external world in our minds to prevent eternal boredom as we drift through empty space and end- less time. (But isn't this view known as solipsism?) Now on to the fractal weather. Total sunshine here at Fractal Central on Monday kept the temp- erature of 34F +1C from feeling quite as cold as it otherwise would have. The fractal cats took full advantage of the sun by spending their afternoon on the shelf in the sunniest southwest window. My day was close to average as far as the work goes, but I was in one of my more philosophical mental states, which prevented total relaxation when the work was finished. FL, being more practical than philosophical, had a more relaxing day. The next FOTD will be posted in 24 hours. Until then, take care, and wait 'till the nun signs Shelly. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= Circle_of_Power { ; time=0:01:58.96-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basicer.frm formulaname=MandAutoCritInZ function=recip passes=1 center-mag=-1.600616015104951/-3.586496457834565/\ 2.462703e+012/1/72.5/0 params=-1.4/-1.2/-0.7/-3.3/\ 0/0/0/0 float=y maxiter=1000 inside=0 logmap=225 periodicity=6 mathtolerance=0.05/1 colors=000D0FE0GF1IF2KG3LG4NI5PK6QL7SN8UP9VPAXQBZP\ C_ODYMEWKCTI9QG8NE0KD0KC0KB0KB9K7FKIGITWGmmUzwUzzz\ zwmztczrUzqKzoMzlOziQffSddUabW_`YYZ_VXaTVcRYzPWzOX\ zTQzSPzROzQOzQMzPLzOKzOZzOZzPZzPZzPZzPZzPZzPZzPZzQ\ ZzQZzQZzQZzQZzQZzQZzRZzRUzRUzRUzRUzRUzRUzSUzSUzSIz\ SIzSJzSJzSJzTJzTKzTKzTKzTKzTLzTLzULzULzUMzUMzUMlUM\ lUMlTNkTOkTPkSQjSRjSSjRTjRUiRWiQXiQYhQZhR_hS`iTajU\ bkVclWdmXenYfoZgp_hq`irajsbktckudkvelwfmxgkxgkxgkx\ gjxgjxgjxgjxgjwgiwgiwgiwgiwghwghwghwghvfhvfgvfgvfg\ vfgvfgvffvffuffuffufeufeufeufeufeufdtfdtfdtedtedte\ ctectectecsebsebsebsebsebseaseaseareare`re`rd`rd`r\ d`rd_rd_qd_qd_qd_qdZqdZqdZqdZqdYpdzpdzpdzpdzpdzpcz\ pczpczoczoczoczoczoczoczoczocznzznzznzznzznzznzznz\ znzztzzszzrzzrzzqzzpzzpzzozznzznzzmzzlzzlzzkzzjzzj\ zzizzhzzizzhzzhzzhzzgzzgzzgdzgczfczfbzfazfaze`ze`z\ e_ze_zdZzdZzdYzdXzcXzcWzc } frm:MandAutoCritInZ {; Jim Muth a=real(p1), b=imag(p1), d=real(p2), f=imag(p2), g=1/f, h=1/d, j=1/(f-b), z=(((-a*b*g*h)^j)+(p4)), k=real(p3)+1, l=imag(p3)+100, c=fn1(pixel): z=k*((a*(z^b))+(d*(z^f)))+c, |z| < l } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================