; Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 10:52:40 -0500 ; From: Jim Muth ; Subject: [Fractint] FOTD 01-12-03 (Seasonal Wreath [8]) ; Id: <1.5.4.16.20031201105416.2a8f9db6@pop.mindspring.com> ; --------- ; ; FOTD -- December 01, 2003 (Rating 8) ; ; Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: ; ; Like so much of our current view of reality, fractals are non- ; intuitive. Before the theory of relativity, who could have ; thought that matter is a different form of energy, that electro- ; magnetic waves are transmitted by nothing, or that the present ; moment of time is not universal but unique to the individual ; observer? Before the quantum theory, who could have guessed ; that photons and electrons are incomprehensible things that can ; be seen as either waves or particles; or that, with a proper ; experimental set-up, it is apparently possible to change the ; past; or that the closest we can come to reality at the quantum ; level is the mathematical equations which describe it? Before ; fractals were discovered, who could have guessed that an expres- ; sion as simple as Z^2+C could lead to infinity? ; ; The world extends far beyond the part of it comprehended by an ; ant. It extends far beyond the part of it comprehended by the ; fractal cats. These lower forms of life (the cats would dis- ; agree here) lack the intelligence to grasp the vastness of exis- ; tence. But then there is man. Is our intelligence the highest ; form of intelligence possible? Is it sufficient to grasp the ; totality of existence? Apparently not. ; ; One-hundred years ago, we assumed that our local galaxy com- ; prised the entire universe. Then the telescope at the Mount ; Wilson observatory showed that we were hugely underestimating ; the vastness of the universe. In recent years we have been pon- ; dering an infinity of parallel universes combined into an infi- ; nitely more vast multiverse. Next, we might be thinking of an ; infinity of multiverses. And there are those 11 dimensions (up ; from 10) required for M-theory to make sense. ; ; How can we find a 'theory of everything' when our concept of ; 'everything' keeps growing? I sometimes feel that, due to the ; limitations of out intellectual apparatus, we are even today ; unaware of as much of existence as an ant going mechanically ; about its programmed chores. And artificial intelligence can be ; of little help, for we will design our computers to 'think' as ; much like ourselves as possible. If a computer actually were to ; start thinking in a truly new and original manner, we would ; likely fail to comprehend its unfamiliar logic, and assume it ; was malfunctioning. We would re-program it to 'think' more like ; ourselves. ; ; It is kind of discouraging. We are nearing the limits, and the ; limits are ourselves. 120 years ago, we thought we had discov- ; ered almost all there was to know; today it looks like we don't ; even know what we don't know, and even worse, because of our ; limited minds, we never will know. ; ; Oh, before I forget -- we have a fractal today. It is an 'evap- ; orated' scene in the fractal created by a whimsical formula of ; 1's and 4's based on the square root of 2. I named it "Seasonal ; Wreath" because it reminds me of the wreaths that decorate so ; many doors and windows at this time of year. ; ; I rated the image at an exceptional 8, which might be a bit ; liberal. But after almost three weeks of Mandelbrot images, it ; seems like a refreshing change. The render time of two minutes ; is well within reason, even though a download of the completed ; image might be a bit faster. That download may be found on ; Paul's web site at: ; ; ; ; and on Scott's site at: ; ; ; ; Sunday turned out to be another near-average day here at Fractal ; Central, a bland day, slightly chilly, with little to tell ; about. The partly cloudy skies and temperature of 48F 14C were ; barely acceptable to the cats, who were outdoors only an hour. ; Their spirits were lightened, however, by the last of the left- ; over turkey. ; ; This morning is starting mild with promises of a pleasant day. ; But a cold front with high winds is due around midday. The cats ; dislike wind and cold, so we'll have to hope for the best for ; them. Until tomorrow, take care, and take life one fractal at ; a time. ; ; ; Jim Muth ; jamth@mindspring.com ; jimmuth@aol.com ; ; ; START PARAMETER FILE================================ Seasonal_Wreath { ; time=0:02:17.81--SF5 on a P200 reset=2002 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotMix4 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=+2.32911156705464600/-0.065564664774447\ 56/15547.06/1/-67.5/1.6424422933e-010 params=14/-1\ .414/1/-14.14/-1.4/1e+100 float=y maxiter=1800 inside=bof61 periodicity=10 colors=000ZO`SUbL`dFffMd`TbV_aPf_JlZEmcDnhCnmBorAo\ w9r`VuEoqFlnFjkFghFedFbaF`ZFYWFWSFUPFRMFPJFMAAACFH\ 9FF6FD9JFBMGEQIGTJJWLL_MObOQfPTjRcnSmsUrwVzzWrxYhv\ Zbt_bsabrbbrcbqecpfcpgcoicnjcnkcmmclncloeinfgngenh\ cnianj_mkYmlWmnTmoRmpPlqNlrLlsJltHluFlrEfoEalEXiER\ fEMcEH`EBYE6VE1UI3TM4SQ5RT6QX8P`9OcANgBMkDLnEKrFJv\ GIyHJtNKpTLlYMhcNdhO`nPXs72lB3jF3iJ3hN3gQ4eU4dY4ca\ 4be4ah5_l5Zp5Yt5Xw5Wu6Vt6Ur6Uq7To7Tn7Sl8Sk8Rj8Qh9Q\ g9Pe9PdAObAOaAN`ANcEMeIMgLMiPLkSLnWLpZLrbKteKviKxl\ KZ4fa7dc9beB`gDZiFXkHWmKUoMSqOQsQOuSMwULrSKnRJjQIf\ PIkHaeFU_DMVBETCHSCKRCNQCQPCTOCWNCYMD`LDcKDfJDiIDl\ HDoGDqMLnRSkW_h`feenbju`etW`sSWrNSqJNpEIoAEn6Hl8Jj\ 9MhAOgBReCTcDWbEY`F`ZGbXHeWIgUJjSKlRLiPMgNNeLOcJP`\ HQZFRXDSVBTS9UQ7VO5WM3XK2XI3VH3TG4RF4QE5OD5MC6KB6J\ A7H97F88D78C87E87F87G96H96I96JA5KA5LA5MB4NB4OB4PA4\ QA4RA4SA4TA4TmCPs4UlBXeHZ } 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================================== ;