To: fractal-art@aros.net From: Jim Muth Sender: owner-fractal-art@terra.aros.net Reply-To: fractal-art@aros.net Date: Sun, 2 Mar 1997 12:40:38 -0500 (EST) Subject: A brief introduction Message-Id: <1.5.4.16.19970302124331.2db7eb6a@pop.mindspring.com> Received: (from majordom@localhost) by terra.aros.net (8.8.5/8.6.12) id KAA03350 for fractal-art-safe-outgoing; Sun, 2 Mar 1997 10:40:44 -0700 Received: from mailmule0.mindspring.com (mailmule0.mindspring.com [204.180.128.191]) by terra.aros.net (8.8.5/8.6.12) with ESMTP id KAA03339 for ; Sun, 2 Mar 1997 10:40:42 -0700 Received: from LOCALNAME (ip226.baltimore.md.pub-ip.psi.net [38.11.97.226]) by mailmule0.mindspring.com (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id MAA01587 for ; Sun, 2 Mar 1997 12:40:38 -0500 (EST) Precedence: bulk Status: RO Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (16) X-Sender: jamth@pop.mindspring.com X-Authentication-Warning: terra.aros.net: majordom set sender to owner-fractal-art using -f Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Length: 3683 Hi everyone: I'm Jim. I'll introduce myself by telling a bit of my background. I am a writer, graphic designer and armchair philosopher, living in a large east coast city in the U.S.A. I became interested in fractals early in the 1980's, when the first article on the Mandelbrot set appeared in the Scientific American magazine. I have always had a desire to explore unknown regions, but found myself frustrated because the unknown parts of this world have already been explored and the vast unknown places of other worlds are yet to be reached. The world of fractals fulfilled that desire. To me, fractals are mystical things, objects of a world neither real nor unreal. I am fascinated by them, by the tremendous enigma of their existence, by the way they go on and on forever -- infinity reduced to the size of a computer screen. I am fascinated by the simplicity of the mathematics behind them, as well as by the incredible pictures they make. But I am fascinated most of all by their philosophical aspect. As I work with them, I constantly wonder what they are, and what do their beautiful patterns mean. What is a fractal? The question is simple; the simple answer is, "the mapping of a recursive function to the screen". But stop a moment to consider the Mandelbrot set, one of the simplest fractals. How many Mandelbrot sets exist, one or many? If the Mandelbrot set is merely the image that appears on a computer screen when the formula Z^2+C is reiterated, then thousands of identical Mandelbrot sets are constantly coming into existence and vanishing as thousands of computers are switched on and off worldwide. If these images are separate entities, then why are they identical? Apparently, a unity lies behind the separate images. But if the Mandelbrot set is a single object that has an existence beyond the ephemeral images that flicker on the world's computer screens, then the question arises, "what type of existence does this archetypal Mandelbrot set possess?" The question sounds almost comical until one thinks about it. One might also ask, "did the Mandelbrot set exist before computers were invented?" Questions such as these are not so easily answered. In some ways the Mandelbrot set is no more than an idea, a potentiality like sub-atomic particles, which according to certain interpretations of quantum theory, don't come into existence until they are actually observed. Are fractals art? This is a question with as many answers as there are people who answer it, for art exists in the mind of the beholder. If a person glances at a fractal image and passes on without knowing or caring, then to that person fractals are not art. But if a person sees beauty in a fractal image, if that image fills the person with a sense of awe and wonder, then fractals are indeed art. To me, fractals are art of the highest order. I have created many thousands of them over the past ten years, most of which have long since been discarded. But those discarded images still exist somewhere out there, like ghosts lost in the ether, waiting for the time when some unknown enthusiast enters the same magic formula into a computer, and once again brings them to life. I'll have more to say, not quite so philosophical, in future postings. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com ------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for using Fractal-Art, The Fractal Art Discussion List Post Message: fractal-art@aros.net Get Commands: majordomo@aros.net "help" Administrator: noring@netcom.com Unsubscribe: majordomo@aros.net "unsubscribe fractal-art" Want to view, create, or know more about fractals?