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Is “God” a Fractal?

Written by Juliet Bennett
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When I inside and outside my “self”, I see one thing: fractals. Fractals explain to me the microcosm and the macrocosm that our cells, bodies, societies, galaxies, and possibly universes and beyond, are a part of.

Have you seen the “Power of Ten” clip? This is a MUST. It zooms out at the power of 10 every second out to the edge of our universe and then zooms into through to the quantum quark inside your hand. Out of every youtube clip I’ve ever posted on this blog, this is my favourite:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0[/youtube]

Compare this adventure in our universe to the Mandelbrot Fractal Adventure I last week and tell me what you think … are we fractals?

This is one more clip worth watching that explores this question:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE2EiI-UfsE[/youtube]

Fractal patterns seem to surround us as far out into the universe and as deep into our cells as far as our technology allows us to see.

From relationships within cells to between cells, within people to between people, within societies to between societies, within nations to between nations, within our planet, solar system, galaxy, universe – there are clear patterns: patterns of complexity and nothingness, of ones and zeros, of peace and conflict, patterns of a dance between polar opposites that are two sides to one coin.

In bridging finite (area) with infinite (perimeter), does the fractal pattern provide a metaphor of how what seems impossible, actually be possible? What implications might this have for philosophical discussions about good and evil, determinism vs in-determinism, individualism vs in-separateness?

Is what some people call “God”, a personification of the fractal?

Is it just me or is the idea of fractals an incredible way to think about the connection between our cells, our universe, and our “selves”!!!

Image taken from http://bidhanr.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/fractals/

 

Truth, ,

The Koch Snowflake: Fractals

Written by Juliet Bennett
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A fractal is a shape that you can split into parts, zoom in, and discover the same or similar shape, times infinity. It’s almost magic, this pattern which extends outward and inward, seemingly to infinity. I’ll use the Koch Snowflake among others examples of fractals to introduce what I find a very exciting concept it to you.

If this is the first you’ve heard of fractals, the best introduction is the Mandelbrot Fractal Adventure:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYYQuspB8j4[/youtube]

Let’s look at a few in nature:

Lungs [1]

Trees [2]

Ferns [3]

Cauliflower [4]

Blood vessels [5]

Lightning [6]

Closer look at lightning

And closer still

Oceanwaves [7]

The pattern of of and inside the wave:

Coastlines [8]

How does a fractal work?

Let’s look at a snowflake:

[9]

Each line is divided into three and an additional line to the same length added. This is then done to the next set of lines, and the next set, and so on to infinity. The last youtube clip in this entry gives a more detailed description of this process.

The mountain example is pretty cool too:

[10]

This guy does a great job explaining the mathematics behind it:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWOngYTC-2E[/youtube]

“Fractals demonstrate an infinite perimeter with a finite area” – now that’s an idea to ponder for a while…

References & sources:

[1] Lungs http://gaiathelivingearth.blogspot.com/2009/07/fractals-in-nature.html

[2] Trees

Fractal tree, made from using a “Lindenmayer system”.This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Solkoll.

[3] Fern http://www.rogerolivella.net/insula/en/descripcio.htm

[4] Cauliflower http://www.math.toronto.edu/~drorbn/Gallery/Plants/Cauliflower-1.html

[5] Blood vessels http://www.lionden.com/fractal_body.htm

[6] Waves http://mathpaint.blogspot.com/2008/06/fractal-waves.html

[7] Lightning – the last two also by Solkoll the first from a blog site that didn’t have copyright – if anyone knows who I should attribute it to please let me know.

[8] Coastlines http://bidhanr.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/fractals/

[9] Fractal Snowflake Graphic by António Miguel de Campos (self made based in own JAVA animation) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

[10] Fractal Mountain Graphic by António Miguel de Campos (self made based in own JAVA animation) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Also good reference is: Mandelbrot, B.B. (1982). The Fractal Geometry of Nature. W.H. Freeman and Company.

Truth,

Microcosms and macrocosms – we are specks of dust in a giant’s eye

Written by Juliet Bennett
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“India’s chaos was bigger than your ego,” said Farhad Azad. “You have to remember we are but drops in the ocean.” He was right, India’s incomprehensibility had put me back in my place. Somewhere along the line I came across this song, it’s pretty funny. By Kimya Dawson:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFvRe_Zk3VI[/youtube]

I like it. “I am a speck of dust inside a giant’s eye”

As you can see, over a few rounds of  longneck Himalaya (Nepali beer) on two brief occasions, I learned a lot from Farhad. It’s amazing how when you are open to the universe, you meet the right people at the right time in the most random ways. Similarly, I find it amazing how sometimes I come across little you-tube clips like this one, or words or ideas, that stick with you for life. Coincidence? Synchronicity??

As a drop of water in a vast infinite ocean, I am starting to consceitize (as Lederach, a famous conflict specialist would say,) that is, I am becoming more and more aware of myself-in-context.

As I see it I am a microcosms of microcosms, inside macrocosms of macrocosms.

I am a seemingly insignificant yet an utmost essential piece of an infinitely expandable fractal pattern.

If that’s not a paradox, I don’t know what is.

Picture:

Just a photo of a cactus plant a friend gave me for Christmas… it’s still alive!!! (I don’t have a very good reputation when it comes to plants…) But in terms of fractal patterns it’s probably not the most appropriate shot. If I had a photo of a fern, I would have put that up… you’ll just have to use your imagination 🙂

Adventure, Truth, , , ,