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Fractal of the Day
by Jim Muth
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Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: Today's fractal discussion is brief because most of my energy went into writing the philosophical part. The parent fractal of today's image came about when I combined the Mandelbrot set with 0.006 parts of Z^(-2). The result is a vague outline of the M-set filled with debris. Today's scene lies in what once was East Valley of the large midget at -1.75 on the X-axis. I have no idea why I named the image "Web Works". Most likely the filaments reminded me of a spider's web. The rating of a 6 means I consider the image a bit better than usual. The render time of 7-1/2 minutes means it will be slightly more efficient to download the finished image from the FOTD web site at: I have just received the Nov-Dec '05 issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The issue is devoted to the debate between the backers of the theory of Evolution and the backers of the theory of Intelligent Design (a.k.a. Creationism). The proponents of evolution claim that life arose through a series of fortuitous chemical accidents, and man, with his conscious intelligence, evolved from ape-like ancestors. The strength of the theory is the fossil evidence that exists; the weakness is the near-impossibility of the complexities of life happening totally by accident. Evolution neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. The proponents of I.D. claim that the chance of complex life and man himself arising by accident is so small as to be effectively impossible, and an intelligent designer (a.k.a. God) must be assumed to have created life as well as its ultimate achievement, which is Man. It is then a small step to claim that the existence of God has been proved. In my view of things the whole debate is silly. Both sides are right. Evolution most certainly is a fact. We have the scientific evidence to show that it happened. Life and man are also too complex to have come about totally by accident. We can estimate the infinitesimal probability of it happening in the few billion years earth has existed, not to mention the vastly smaller probability of each of our individual conscious selves coming into existence. In my opinion, some intelligent power as yet unknown, call it God if you will, designed the universe with a potential to develop life, which once developed would evolve to take advantage of the particular conditions in which it thereafter found itself. I suppose that, in the view of skeptics, this puts me in the intelligent design camp, but I still agree that the theory of evolution is correct. I merely add that the entire process of evolution was designed by an intelligent power. On a more earthly note, yes the fractal cats are real. They most definitely are not a fictional invention of my imagination. I have every intention of taking their pictures and having them posted on the FOTD web site. It certainly will be done before I move from Baltimore. The problem is that my old film camera no longer works and I have no other reason to go out shopping and comparing new-fangled digital cameras before purchasing one. I used to do much photographic work, and I want a camera that will take top-quality photographs. With warm sun and a temperature of 75F 24C, Saturday was like a return to summer here at Fractal Central. The fractal cats made the most of things by passing the entire afternoon lurking in the holly patch. My day was busier than usual, but not excessively so. Today is starting even warmer but with a threat of rain. If the rain holds off, it will be another good day. The next FOTD will appear in 24 hours. Until then, take care, and must all design be intelligent? Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com |
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times.
