NOVA: Fractals – Hunting the Hidden Dimension

“The book of nature is written in mathematics” Galileo
“The book of nature is written in mathematics.” GalileoA tree, a bush, a cauliflaur, a brain, a lung system, what all these organic structures share in common is the use of repeating patterns to create a whole that in its macroscopic view is just like its microscopic view.Called fractals they have also been employed mathematically to describe forces of nature and also knowledge itself.In one of my very favorite quotes of all time, the late Isaac Asimov observed that “Knowledge has a fractal like structure. No matter how much we learn, whatever remains, no matter how seemingly small, is infinitely complex.”Amazingly though artists had already informally discovered them, fractals came to the fore mathematically only in 1979 when Benoit Mandlebroit began writing about them and their ubiquity in nature. Mandlebroit had been a Jew trapped in France during WWII. He had survived to quickly earn his Phd. and then acquire a reputation as an academic very willing to follow his own hunches.Lucky for us Mandlebroit overcame early disdain for his discovery and pursued fractal research zealously. As alluded earlier in this notice, examples of both organic and inorganic uses of fractals have dominated research since 1979.For its part this DVD does an excellent job of discussing the history and various applications of fractals and it also inspires the viewer to further study and exploration of this important area of mathematics which actually turns out to be an example of creation itself.While nature’s “book” may be written in mathematics, this DVD at least allows you to view a synopsis of this chapter on film.

Interesting documentary on fractals
This was a very interesting documentary, I didn’t know too much about fractals and was totally unaware that these mathematics had so many potential applications in the study of the natural world. The history of their use in computer graphics and electrical engineering was fascinating. My only beef is that I feel too much time in this documentary is spent trying to show that mathematics is “cool” (as opposed to “square”) and “the same as art” when, personally, I’m more interested in the history of the subject and its various useful applications. If you can show me something is useful, you don’t have to try to show me that it’s “cool”, that’s a given.

Fractals – Only a hidden dimension until we looked
I ordered and recieved this to make up a minimum, thinking maybe it would be of interest.It has now been watched twice and is not only informative and educational but extremely enlightening.One of the most common threads in this documentary is (sadly) how the scientific community first chooses to ridicule and deride new, unconventional or out of the box thinking.It is surprising how this branch of applied mathematics took the world by storm, when it is intrinsically “of the world”. If you enjoyed the TV Drama Numbers, this is probably a great documentary for you, ditto if you enjoy nature in all its fantastic aspects.As a documentary, it’s very well put together – for example it’s a surprise in one fashion that a single balsa wood tree, instead of making toy aeroplanes, can hold the mathematical key to the carbon footprint of an entire forest.Definately recommended.

A Must See
My mom was a Mentor Teacher who used PBS as a tool for Transfering Knowledge.I bought this dvd and Donated it to a High School I have worked for in the past.When I droped off this dvd. I answered a question by a Teacher;”Fractals and it’s science are opening and linking things we thought Not Possible, Fractals linked Art, Math and Science !”…..and the art form Origami !!(Think Protein Chains and Cancer Chains and how they link.)This is a Great Introduction to Fractals !!Stop Reading and buy the dvd !!!!

A good, concise overview of the discovery, history and use of fractals, one of the most intriguing scientific discoveries of the twentieth century. Relevant to myriad fields of science and mathematics today.

Interesting but moves towards myticism