; Date: Mon, 08 Jul 2002 11:15:46 -0400 ; From: Jim Muth ; Subject: [Fractint] FOTD 08-07-02 (A Blue Creation [7]) ; Id: <1.5.4.16.20020708111612.29efaeae@pop.mindspring.com> ; --------- ; FOTD -- July 08, 2002 (Rating 7) ; ; Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: ; ; Fractals are infinite -- which is why they are called fractals. ; They are infinite in many ways. But what is infinity. At one ; time I thought that infinity was the largest possible number. ; Somewhat later, I realized that if infinity were the largest ; number, that number could be represented by the letter X and ; increased by any desired amount by adding another number to it ; as in X+Y=Z. Of course, the new number represented by Z could ; be given the same treatment, and the process continued forever, ; demonstrating that no largest number exists. ; ; Infinity is not a number, it is a condition -- the condition of ; being without limit. This condition is quite easy to see in a ; case such as a toy train track arranged in a circle. The track ; has no limit, and a toy train running along it will travel a ; trip without a limit. ; ; As a basic concept, infinity is easy to understand. Paradoxes ; arise however when we begin asking meaningless questions about ; infinity. The toy train going in a circle is a simple concept, ; but if we ask how many circuits of the track will the train ; eventually make if nothing ever stops it and nothing wears out, ; or how many days will the train continue running before it comes ; to the end of the line, we find ourselves faced with questions ; without answers. ; ; In our everyday lives we ask such questions, often without ; realizing it. Questions about the beginning and end of time and ; space are puzzling for the same reason that questions involving ; the end of the toy-train line are puzzling -- we are trying to ; introduce into our intuitive world-view something that does not ; exist. I admit that it is fun to wonder about what happened ; 'before' the 'big-bang', (if the bang itself actually happened), ; but being able to perceive time intuitively only as an infinite ; straight line with no imaginable beginning or end, I know that I ; will never find an answer that appears intuitively correct. ; ; And speaking of infinity, today's fractal contains infinite ; detail, an infinitesimal part of which appears in today's image. ; I named the scene "A Blue Creation", though I have not decided ; whether I created it when I entered the parameters, or merely ; discovered it. ; ; Regardless of its origin, the image rates a 7, which makes it ; almost worth the 6 minutes required to render it from the ; parameter file. As always, the completed image is available on ; Paul's web site at: ; ; ; ; and on Scott's site at: ; ; ; ; The fractal weather Sunday here at Fractal Central was smoky. ; Smoke from forest fires in Canada blew in on north winds and ; gave us a day with a dull grey sky and visibility of less than ; 1km. The smell of burning timber was quite noticeable, which ; may be why the dynamic duo remained outdoors only a few minutes. ; The temperature of 81F 27C was quite pleasant but hard to enjoy ; with the smoke totally obscuring the sun. ; ; If I'm lucky, I'll get done the things that need to be done, and ; have enough time left over to enjoy part of the afternoon. But ; before I hope to finish, I must begin. Until next time on July ; 10, take care, and before we can know the truth we must know the ; question. ; ; ; Jim Muth ; jamth@mindspring.com ; jimmuth@aol.com ; ; ; START PARAMETER FILE================================ A_Blue_Creation { ; time=0:06:15.52--SF5 on a p200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=-1.164418403483855/-0.00416714065635447\ /4.784102e+008/1/-7.5/-1.34769670230433514e-005 params=1.75/0.8/0.175/-8/0/0 float=y maxiter=750 inside=0 logmap=111 periodicity=10 colors=0000005E46D38B0990z0zr0nl0hc0`W3ZQ6YJ9YBDY5\ J_4K`4Lb4Oa3Pb3Qc3Rd2Se2Tf2Ug0Vh0Wj0Xl0Ym0Xq0Vt3St\ 5Op9KkBIfEHcKHbKIYKJUQKRTLPWMLZNJaOGdMEfMBiQFjTIkV\ KnZMo`PpcTsfVtiYul_xoayqezthzxjzzlzzozypzvqztszptz\ nuzkvyhxyexxcyx_zvYzuVzuRztPztMzhflYzVTxPPvJKuDGs6\ Bq08p0Bk0Fh3Jd6M_AQWEUTIYPL`KQdGUhDYk8`o4ds0hv0kq3\ jn8ijEheJfaPeZUeUZdQdcMiaIo`Et_Ay_FscKlePhhUajZYlc\ RphMslGuqBxv5zz0zx2xu3tt3oq4ko4fn5ck5Zi6Vh6Qe8Mc8I\ a9E_99YA5WA2`DAdEJiFRlI_qJhuKpyLxsIynEzhBzc8zZ5zYA\ vYFpYKjYPdYTZTVaPWeLYhG_kD`o9aqFWtLQuQKxWEy`8zf2zk\ 0zl3zn8xoDuoIqpMoqRlqWis`ftedtjavk_xkZykYzkWzkVznV\ ypVysVxuVxvVvyVuzVuzVtzVtzVazeLzo4zy3xv2qu0ks0eq0_\ o0Un0Ok0JjfJihGkhFlhEnhDohAqh9sh8th6u`DsVJqPPoJVnD\ `l6fj0li0sh6piIniTkjcijnfjkjaioUjqkqxuyzzxzzxzxxzu\ vzsvzpvznuzjuzhuzetzctz`tzZtzWkzUdzTYzQQzPIzOAzL3z\ K0zJ0zG0zF0zE0zB2zA3z93z8 } frm:MandelbrotMix4 {; 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, 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================================== ; ;