More than random images
About twenty years ago, I fell in love with a piece of software that created fractal images. Finally, I said to myself (and anyone else who would listen), a practical use for higher mathematics. The designs were decidedly non-random, but they provided a visual tool for exploring certain facets of chaos theory (the reason why even wrong answers to mathematics questions have a place in the imaginary universe). I zoomed and I colour-cycled and had a good time in two-dimensional space. EGA was so much cooler than CGA for such efforts. My 13 inch monitor was a window into a world that had nothing to do with WordStar.
Fast forward, to now. Yesterday, the feed at Slashdot.org took me to the next level. Three-dimensional fractal images. Once again, I slipped into the crack. So much detail. So much colour. So much utility (not).
The tie between fractal images and real life begins with an aerial view of a shoreline. As you zoom in, the demarcation between land and sea continues to be random and mathematical. Take that, you teachers in high school who spent years trying to convince me otherwise. I knew that your formulae were just one more joke in the universe.
Here is a link to some wonderful images, rendered for use as desktop wallpaper. If you want more information about fractal generation, I invite you to explore the FAQ over in the Stone Soup domain, where my original taste for swirly images began. Much cheaper than mixing different sorts of ice cream and waiting for the inevitable meltdown.
