; Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 19:37:33 -0400 ; From: Jim Muth ; Subject: [Fractint] FOTD 17-03-14 (Random Arabesque [A-8,M-7]) ; Id: <1.5.4.16.20140317193735.2bd7fc3c@earthlink.net> ; --------- ; ; FOTD -- March 17, 2014 (Rating A-8,M-7) ; ; Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: ; ; If my records are correct, (which is not at all certain), today ; is the 16th anniversary of the day I introduced myself and ; posted the first fractal to the Fractal Art list. To celebrate ; the momentous occasion, I have reposted my original introduction ; to the Fractal Art list. ; ; START OLD STUFF-------------------------------------------------- ; ; Hi everyone: ; ; I'm Jim Muth. I'll introduce myself by telling a bit of my ; background. I am a short-story writer, graphic designer and ; armchair philosopher, living in a large East Coast city ; (Baltimore, MD) in the U.S.A. I became interested in fractals ; back in the 1980's, when the first article about 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 almost totally explored and the vast unknown places ; of other worlds are yet to be reached. The world of fractals in ; a strange way fulfills 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 answer is simple -- 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?" Is ; it real, imaginary or virtual? 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, do not come into existence ; until they are actually observed. ; ; Are fractals good art? This is a question with as many answers ; as there are people who answer it, for good art exists in the ; mind of the beholder. If a person glances at a fractal image ; and passes on without second thought, then to that person ; fractals are not art. But if a person sees a degree of 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. ; ; In future postings I'll have much more to say, some things not ; quite so philosophical, others far more so. ; ; END OLD STUFF---------------------------------------------------- ; ; When I wrote this I had no idea of the number fractals I would ; post to various lists in the future. ; ; As for today's image, it is a scene on the negative X-axis of a ; Mandelbrot set corrupted by Z^(10.9) energies. The scene is ; located at a point where the main spike has divided into two ; main branches, with today's image lying between the branches. ; ; I have adjusted the escape radius (the real(p2) parameter) to ; place the scene at the edge of annihilation, where the swiss ; cheese effect is at a minimum. ; ; The name "Random Arabesque" is the first phrase that came to ; mind as I studied the image in search of a name. ; ; In my opinion, which is what counts, the art is worth an 8 and ; the math worth a 7. The calculation time of just over 2 minutes ; will pass quiclky enough, though the web sites can cut the wait ; still further. ; ; The calculation may be eliminated by checking the finished image ; on the FOTD web sites at: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Today began with clouds threatening snow, but the snow remained ; well to the south and the clouds broke in the afternoon, leading ; to a pleasant but chilly day with a temperature of 36F +2C. ; Fractal cat No.2 went to the vet's office this morning, where ; the doctor told her that she had followed his instructions to ; the letter and could once again run free. Fractal cat No.1 ; greeted her with enthusiasm when she returned, but warned her to ; slow down when she got too frisky with him, working off some of ; her stored-up energy. The humans were glad that the fractal cat ; situation is back to normal. ; ; The next FOTD will probably be posted in 24 hours. Most FOTD's ; are. Until then, take care, and why is the U.S. so bothered ; that the Crimeans have voted to be free. I thought we're always ; fighting with the 'enemies of freedom' to defend the right to a ; free democratic vote. ; ; ; Jim (it's all politics) Muth ; jimmuth@earthlink.net ; ; ; START PARAMETER FILE======================================= Random_Arabesque { ; time=0:02:10.00 SF5 at 2000MHZ reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=basicer.frm formulaname=FinDivBrot-2 function=recip passes=1 center-mag=-1.7434356542/0/446449/1/90/0 params=10.9/1000000000000.0/-12.95/0 float=y maxiter=1500 inside=0 periodicity=6 colors=000FpyE_qDKiMQ_UWRaaIbTFbKCbBAXMCRWELfGGpHC\ lK8iN4fQAiMFlJKoGPrDLkBId9FY8HOJCR69K46D3361fwgScT\ EKEzqVrjRjcNcccVRFNKBFD7763CQr6DRCScANX8Iz6EK49D2z\ zRz0Ni0ez0Z00nG0A70650320zCpr3gj3OhAKb2GN10F18704w\ p8zzzpf2pWIZZMoEHLLDEE8774iHkaEcUBWN8OF5G728z3_BNF\ 5B7_JJSFFLBBE77733cb5WV4ON3GF2871V6cQ5YM4SH3MD2H81\ B405nr`Y_OHICAqb6_Q3IDhDzbBrX9jS8bM6VG4NB3F517ivq_\ jfRZWINL9BAHClEAcB8W86O54G228`rGTgCMX9EM67B3zlmKzr\ HrkFjdCbYAVR7NK5FD276ioo_ddRVVIKK9AATnqkH2XwdOhUGU\ K8FAivhBk69e58_46U35O34I22C1160vnxmfoe_fXTYPLQGEH8\ 78WYuSTmOPfKL_GHTCCL88E447bEjXCcRAXM8QG6KB4D526ML5\ II4FF3CC2992661330SQnOMfKI_GETCBL87E437qUWiPRaLMUH\ INCDF89744zqvVRT4`h3T_2MR1EI079`5CR39I26913mLjcG`U\ CSK8IA49yJNV9BMm4Hc3DU28K14A0QUXDFGfMm`JfWG`QDVLBP\ G8IA5C526cBaZ9XU8SP6NK5JF4EA29514UOlPKeLHZHDSCAL86\ E4376uL5lI4dF3XC2O91G6083 } frm:FinDivBrot-2 { ; Jim Muth z=(0,0), c=pixel, a=-(real(p1)-2), esc=(real(p2)+16), b=imag(p1): z=(b)*(z*z*fn1(z^(a)+b))+c |z| < esc } ; END PARAMETER FILE========================================= ; ; ; ; _______________________________________________ ; Fractint mailing list ; Fractint@mailman.xmission.com ; http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fractint ;