Why are fractals so important?
Way back at the beginning of this website. I made a statement that Benoit Mandelbrot's announcement about fractals, changed my life. It did. I'll explain how in a minute, but first let me explain something. Fractals are complex mathematical patterns. Mathematicians, (people who do math for a living,) had theories, ideas that fractals could exist, but fractals could not be made in the real world. Without computers, they can not exist. This makes them, the first truly new artform created in over 50 years. Before fractals, the newest ways to make art were photography and motion pictures. All three artforms require a certain level of technology, but only fractals require technology that was not available until the second half of the 20th century. This makes them the only truly modern artform.
I always wanted to make art. I tried, but my drawings never turn out well, and my tries at sculpture have all looked like something the dog chewed on. When I discovered fractals, I discovered that I could make art. That is how Mr. Madelbrot changed my life.
There is more to the story. The math that makes fractals has been used by scientists and engineers. Today's space program uses fractal math. So does modern ecology. Whenever people try to explain very complex systems, fractals come to their aid. Many of the improvements in weather forecasting are largely due to fractal science.
Whenever you print a page off your computer screen. You are using fractals. Computer printing technology could not have happened without fractals. Nearly every form of computer art uses fractals. In 3D art software, every time an artist changes the size of an object in their images, they are using fractals.
We are only beginning to understand how nature uses fractal equations. They are a very simple way to express complex forms. We are learning that plant growth, cloud systems and crystal structures can all look very much like fractal forms, and probably have some sort of link to fractal equations.
I hope you enjoyed visiting this site. The more I learn about fractals, the more beautiful I think they are.
Shawn Love (dwarvenkind)
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