Fractals and the way things are.
Fractals have been occupying a bit of my time lately. I have diverted from working on the family history as a result. It's the creative side of me that loves fractals. I see so many things in nature that resonate to the same frequency as many fractals. Not to say looking at the real thing isn't the best thing. Look at just plants and how they are shaped, for instance. There are as many variants of plants as there are fractal equations to work with, and possibly more.
So why do I keep going back to fractals as an escape from all the other complexities in my life? Most people look at a fractal and say, "Ok, that looks neat", and look elsewhere for something interesting to look at, talk about, and to otherwise get attention away from what was just shown (as a fractal). Maybe it's the abstraction that is too abstract for the common viewer. Maybe it IS the abstraction, or paradigm I am so interested in. After visiting one website at Yale University on the discussion of fractals, I crave for more. Whether it is the stock market, or a transportation, communication grid, all these complexities if understood how they are formed, can offer a token of predictability.
Things do seem to be arranged in a fractal like manner in nature simply because when many small objects are joined together they make a pattern with some interesting variability. Is the ability to see the pattern a human visual trait, or is it actually a reality, or limitation of how physical matter is made up? Some would have that in nature molecules are displaced, or acted upon by natural forces to make fractal patterns such as mountains, coastlines, plant structure, micro biotic organisms, music and sound waves,and even snowflakes, but the question still remains that we are observing these patterns, and finding mathematical formula to replicate these patterns that we have seen, or are they actual physical forces that we are beginning to understand in a microcosmic sort of way?
What does it matter that we can replicate these patterns mathematically? Formulas are a way to demonstrate an understanding of the way the structure of a fractal as is observed in many forms of nature, including human nature. I wonder how fractals could relate to the way human thought works, for example. It is generally predictable, human thought, but individually it can experience some interesting turns. Why do we make so many mistakes? Even the word mistake has a partial answer to this. At any rate, thinking in terms of artificial intelligence, it might prove useful to look at fractal equations as a way to depict certain forms of human thought.
So why do I keep going back to fractals as an escape from all the other complexities in my life? Most people look at a fractal and say, "Ok, that looks neat", and look elsewhere for something interesting to look at, talk about, and to otherwise get attention away from what was just shown (as a fractal). Maybe it's the abstraction that is too abstract for the common viewer. Maybe it IS the abstraction, or paradigm I am so interested in. After visiting one website at Yale University on the discussion of fractals, I crave for more. Whether it is the stock market, or a transportation, communication grid, all these complexities if understood how they are formed, can offer a token of predictability.
Things do seem to be arranged in a fractal like manner in nature simply because when many small objects are joined together they make a pattern with some interesting variability. Is the ability to see the pattern a human visual trait, or is it actually a reality, or limitation of how physical matter is made up? Some would have that in nature molecules are displaced, or acted upon by natural forces to make fractal patterns such as mountains, coastlines, plant structure, micro biotic organisms, music and sound waves,and even snowflakes, but the question still remains that we are observing these patterns, and finding mathematical formula to replicate these patterns that we have seen, or are they actual physical forces that we are beginning to understand in a microcosmic sort of way?
What does it matter that we can replicate these patterns mathematically? Formulas are a way to demonstrate an understanding of the way the structure of a fractal as is observed in many forms of nature, including human nature. I wonder how fractals could relate to the way human thought works, for example. It is generally predictable, human thought, but individually it can experience some interesting turns. Why do we make so many mistakes? Even the word mistake has a partial answer to this. At any rate, thinking in terms of artificial intelligence, it might prove useful to look at fractal equations as a way to depict certain forms of human thought.