Sunday, November 11, 2012

Pattern Within Pattern

The Intermediate View
Back in the days when computers were as big as a suitcase and as slow as a corporate giant's tax return, there used to be a little programme you could buy which would generate Mandelbrot Sets. These were a kind of infinite pattern, where you could keep on zooming in and revealing patterns within patterns, detail within detail. They had an almost natural feel to them; like coastlines pictured from space or the growth of bark on a pine tree. I was reminded of all this yesterday as Amy and I were walking through the Crematorium and I picked up a leaf from the ground. Like a Mandelbrot Set something as simple as a half-chewed leaf can, with the aid of a half-decent scanner, allow you to seek patterns within patterns, detail within detail.

The Leaf
Leaf Texture




9 comments:

  1. Nice! And I think there are still fractal programs available; I'll have to check all my bookmarked freeware/shareware download sites. But Mama Gaia does a much better job of generating fractal sets than a mere computer program!

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  2. This is the kind of thing that makes my heart go pitty-pat: patterns, and patterns within patterns, and any post that has this phrase: "As Amy and I were walking through the crematorium..."

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  3. Like Roy, fractals came to mind. The thing is I don't get fractals but there is something to the theory that touches me as being a bit of truth, and when I see patterns like this now, I think ah, fractals.

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  4. I know nothing about fractal programs. But leaves..yes! And I can see why that one caught your eye. But come on, fess up now...you really though it was a slice of swiss cheese, didn't you? haha.

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  5. Cool how the chewed up leaf looks in great detail. It boggles my mind how many cells are contained in a leaf and the patterns those cells make.

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  6. Great shoots, thanks!

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  7. So many people restrict the use of their scanners to photographs and documents, Alan. Now they can see what they've been missing!

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  8. That really looks incredible. Too bad our human vision has limitations and we nedd to use ways to enlarge this.

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