fractals

To continue the theme of my last post, let me link you to pictures of a coloured Mandelbrot set. This is one of the math things that we talked about last weekend. The Mandelbrot set is a relatively simple kind of equation that produces the very pretty pictures you see in the link above. The idea with fractals such as the Mandelbrot set is that as you zoom in to inspect the tinier details, you start to see the original larger pattern (or parts of it) repeated in miniature. And then you can keep on zooming in infinitely and more and more patterns show up, but you'll always find something recognizeable from the larger picture. It's like so much classical music with its themes and variances and familiar parts that are nonetheless different from the first time you hear it. Except fractals are infinitely detailed, the composition is never over, you can't zoom in to a point where the resolution sucks, you'll just keep discovering more and more intricate beauty.

So check out that first link! You have to scroll down a few lines to find the place where you click the "next" to see a zoomed-in section of the fractal, but make sure you do because it is AWESOME. (If you feel lost, look at the smaller image below the big one to see where your zoomed-in picture was taken from.)

If you've never discovered the glory of God in math, this is your chance. It's amazing what kind of glorious, detailed beauty a relatively simple equation can produce! Surprise!

Here's a preview: