Product Description
This excellent DVD features three mind-expanding films on fractals, mathematics and the observable universe! Colours of Infinity - Presented by Arthur C Clarke, this film delves into the wonderful world of the Mandelbrot set and fractal geometry; a discovery that could only have been realised with advanced computers, without which they could never be seen. A simple mathematical formula has led to amazing uses in all branches of science, medicine, computer graphics, weather reporting and analysis, geography, topography and even economics. Clouds Are Not Spheres - this film tells the story of the life and work of Benoit Mandelbrot. A great innovator and discoverer of the Mandelbrot set and fractal geometry, Mandelbrot is a highly regarded maverick mathematician. Is God A Number? This film is a fascinating account of the science of mathematics and its connection to mind and consciousness. Presented by Michael Barnsley and featuring Sir Roger Penrose, the film looks at the mystery of consciousness, whilst exploring the links between mathematics, mind, and the physical, observable universe.
About the Actor
Sri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which also produced the film of the same name; and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941 to 1946, proposed satellite communication systems in 1945 which won him the Franklin Institute Stuart Ballantine Gold Medal in 1963. He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947 to 1950 and again in 1953. Later, he helped fight for the preservation of lowland gorillas. He won the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science in 1961. Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, and lived there until his death. He was knighted by the United Kingdom in 1998, and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.
About the Director
Nigel began writing while still a student and published poems and short stories in the UK, the USA and France. Nigel formed his first production company, Green Back Films in 1976, and worked for Donovan, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Squeeze, Rainbow, Joe Cocker, Big Country, Wings, Paul Nicholas and Leo Sayer. He later joined the creative team at the Central Office of Information, writing and directing for the international TV documentary series This Week in Britain and Living Tomorrow. His work includes an acclaimed series of films for the UK's Royal Air Force, Saving The Children, a television documentary on women who work for children's' charities. He then directed The Bobby Charlton Story and the series Whatever You Want for the UK's Channel Four. Beyond the sucess of the three major fractal documentaries, Gordon Films UK have produced educational DVDs and Discovery Channel fillers on fractal mathematics. Nigel has just completed directing his first feature film, Remember A Day. Nigel's first book, Introducing Fractal Geometry was published by Icon Books in November 2000.
