Greetings from Fractal Central
Fractal fans: Greetings again from Fractal Central. It's been over a year since I did any serious fractal searching, and in that time I have grown a bit rusty in using the old standard classic DOS version of Fractint. I now need to sit down and actually take the time to remember the key strokes that were almost automatic, such as coloring, zooming and saving parameter files etc. But I'm sure that with a little practice, it will all come back to me. The DOS version of Fractint has worked well for over 25 years, so I'm not going to trash it, at least not yet. And I'm still searching for fractals on the tired 18-year-old DOS machine, which for a reason known only to itself, will not lie down and call it quits. During the past year, I have been doing much thinking about the philosophical side of fractals, asking myself questions such as 'What are fractals made of?' and 'If they are made of nothing, are they actually real?' In many ways, such questions remind me of the questions I wondered about long ago, when I searched so many books trying to find what subatomic particles actually are. The answer I eventually settled on is that the entire quantum realm with all its particles is nothing more than the abstract mathematical formulas and expressions that define it. All images picturing quantum things as tiny particles, or spread out waves, or neither, or both at the same time, are mere ideas in the human mind that were inspired by the math. They are as real as one considers them to be. And the same is true of fractals. I can now say that I have answered, at least to my satisfaction, the question of what fractals actually are. They are the math that defines them. The sounds and images we are familiar with are emergent epiphenomena of the activity of computer circuitry. I'll end this letter now, but I have only begun to reach into the depths where fractals have led me over the past year, involving science, philosophy and even religion. The actual fractals will resume before long. JIM M.
Jim, Thanks for investigating the basis for our favorite images and sounds!
They [fractals] are the math that defines them. I couldn't agree with you more!
The sounds and images we are familiar with are emergent epiphenomena [secondary effects] of the activity of computer circuitry. Certainly that's very true also.
------------------------------ Perhaps one could one further say that the fractal abilities of certain equations is the behavior that emerges when those equations respond in a sensitive way under iteration (given appropriate inputs that elicit that behavior)... ------------------------------ The sensitivity aspect of my above conjecture was brought home to me in the 1970s when, in a numerial analysis class, I learned how Newton's (iterative) method for solving for roots of equations (potentially one of many roots) is very sensitive to the initial estimate used for the root. It can easily find a different root from the one you wanted the value of. Fractint's default parameter in its built-in Newton's method fractal type clearly shows the three roots (in three pie-shaped wedges of identical coloring) that Newton's method can converge to based on differing initial root estimates. The convoluted areas on the borders between the three "root areas" are showing the sensitivity of the equation under interation. This idea also parallels your eventual conclusion about the quantum realm: "...the entire quantum realm with all its particles is nothing more than the abstract mathematical formulas and expressions that define it." - Hal Lane ######################## # hallane@earthlink.net ######################## -----Original Message----- From: Fractint [mailto:fractint-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jim Muth Sent: Friday, May 6, 2016 3:02 PM To: fractint@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Fractint] Greetings from Fractal Central Fractal fans: Greetings again from Fractal Central. It's been over a year since I did any serious fractal searching, and in that time I have grown a bit rusty in using the old standard classic DOS version of Fractint. I now need to sit down and actually take the time to remember the key strokes that were almost automatic, such as coloring, zooming and saving parameter files etc. But I'm sure that with a little practice, it will all come back to me. The DOS version of Fractint has worked well for over 25 years, so I'm not going to trash it, at least not yet. And I'm still searching for fractals on the tired 18-year-old DOS machine, which for a reason known only to itself, will not lie down and call it quits. During the past year, I have been doing much thinking about the philosophical side of fractals, asking myself questions such as 'What are fractals made of?' and 'If they are made of nothing, are they actually real?' In many ways, such questions remind me of the questions I wondered about long ago, when I searched so many books trying to find what subatomic particles actually are. The answer I eventually settled on is that the entire quantum realm with all its particles is nothing more than the abstract mathematical formulas and expressions that define it. All images picturing quantum things as tiny particles, or spread out waves, or neither, or both at the same time, are mere ideas in the human mind that were inspired by the math. They are as real as one considers them to be. And the same is true of fractals. I can now say that I have answered, at least to my satisfaction, the question of what fractals actually are. They are the math that defines them. The sounds and images we are familiar with are emergent epiphenomena of the activity of computer circuitry. I'll end this letter now, but I have only begun to reach into the depths where fractals have led me over the past year, involving science, philosophy and even religion. The actual fractals will resume before long. JIM M. _______________________________________________ Fractint mailing list Fractint@mailman.xmission.com https://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fractint --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus
You are wise man Jim. My post graduate educational background is rooted in philosophy. I wholly agree with you: many things are a result of the mind’s wonderful and amazing ability to develop methods used to analyze the human condition - mathematics are a refined way of dealing with the things we can never see but can only imagine. Does that then mean mathematics is the key to imagination? (another question for you Jim) Alex Dukay
On May 6, 2016, at 3:02 PM, Jim Muth <jimmuth@earthlink.net> wrote:
Fractal fans:
Greetings again from Fractal Central. It's been over a year since I did any serious fractal searching, and in that time I have grown a bit rusty in using the old standard classic DOS version of Fractint. I now need to sit down and actually take the time to remember the key strokes that were almost automatic, such as coloring, zooming and saving parameter files etc. But I'm sure that with a little practice, it will all come back to me. The DOS version of Fractint has worked well for over 25 years, so I'm not going to trash it, at least not yet. And I'm still searching for fractals on the tired 18-year-old DOS machine, which for a reason known only to itself, will not lie down and call it quits. During the past year, I have been doing much thinking about the philosophical side of fractals, asking myself questions such as 'What are fractals made of?' and 'If they are made of nothing, are they actually real?' In many ways, such questions remind me of the questions I wondered about long ago, when I searched so many books trying to find what subatomic particles actually are. The answer I eventually settled on is that the entire quantum realm with all its particles is nothing more than the abstract mathematical formulas and expressions that define it. All images picturing quantum things as tiny particles, or spread out waves, or neither, or both at the same time, are mere ideas in the human mind that were inspired by the math. They are as real as one considers them to be. And the same is true of fractals. I can now say that I have answered, at least to my satisfaction, the question of what fractals actually are. They are the math that defines them. The sounds and images we are familiar with are emergent epiphenomena of the activity of computer circuitry. I'll end this letter now, but I have only begun to reach into the depths where fractals have led me over the past year, involving science, philosophy and even religion. The actual fractals will resume before long.
JIM M.
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participants (3)
-
alex dukay -
Harold Lane -
Jim Muth