Third in a Series – Fractals with Minister Steve

In blog 3 we look at fractals used as mandalas.

Mandela is the Sanskrit word for “essence” or “completion”, both  terms are derived from the Tibetan phrase dkyil khor) which is a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and adepts; as a spiritual teaching tool; for establishing a sacred space; and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.

Not that I would claim for one moment that there is any intrinsic spiritual significance in my mandala shown here. That would be up to the viewer to decide for themselves!

Turning to the mundane mechanics, this mandala is made by taking a slice; like a slice of mom’s home make apple pie, out of a fractal and then rotating it around a central axis so that you end up with a sort of symmetrical circular image. And it’s just that easy to do in something like 20 seconds or so! Ah, aren’t computers just so absolutely marvelous at doing routine chores and doing them so faithfully.

More Fractals from Minister Steve…

The second image is taken from the Julia set of fractals which is the grand-daddy of the Mandelbrot set mentioned in the previous blog entry.

The Julia set is named after the French mathematician Gaston Julia who investigated their properties around 1915, which was quite an undertaking as there were no computers back then to help with the  staggering amount of calculations necessary to prove the theory

Of course this images which is certainly open to many forms of interpretation looks nothing like the original raw data but has been modified using other math routines and extensive coloring algorithms to be more pleasing to the eye, because fractals by their very nature can be chaotic, where as the human brain, from my understanding is wired to appreciate symmetry and balance.

Although this image looks more suited for a modern art gallery or may be a ultra chic lamp stand. I have taken the liberty of calling it “The Ascension”, so named, for this is the place in our imagination from which the human soul is capable of symbolically flying free and embracing the heavenly realm, for a brief instant…

Fractals with Minister Stephen Waites

Welcome to the fractal blog. Firstly let me explain a bit about what a fractal is. In simple terms a fractal is an object that can be said to have a element of self similarity Which is something that seems to occur in the natural world on a regular basis. Think veins in a leaf and the structure of a river system, for instance To go one stage further we could infer that mathematics is now able to give us a tiny glimpse or window into the world of the divine, for it is said that the god/goddess/all-that-is exists in some small degree in all of creation.
The most famous fractal so far discovered in the late 1970′s was the Mandelbrot, named after Benoit Mandelbrot while he was experimenting with a new form of computer science at IBM In describing the Mandelbrot set. Arthur C Clark comments that the image of this fractal can be magnified until it has a size larger than that of the known universe and has been cataloged as the first truly authentic infinite object to be discovered in recorded history! Further, in an apparent paradox, this complex object can be rendered by use of extremely simple math functions, consisting of just addition and multiplication done millions and millions of times, which of course is task that computers do very well! So without further ado, here is the first image, which I named “The Doves”. In this image we have the symbolic doves depicted as both descending and ascending in equal measure to show the divine balance and order within God’s bounteous creation.