- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books (1 Oct 1992)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671742175
- ISBN-13: 978-0671742171
- Product Dimensions: 30.2 x 25.1 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 964,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
F. David Peat
physicist and author of "The Philosophers' Stone"
John Briggs takes us on a magical journey into the world of fractals and to the limits of the human imagination. A marvelous marriage of science, mathematics, nature, and art.
Product Description
Fractals are unique patterns left behind by the unpredictable movements -- the chaos -- of the world at work. The branching patterns of trees, the veins in a hand, water twisting out of a running tap -- all of these are fractals. Learn to recognize them and you will never again see things in quite the same way.
Fractals permeate our lives, appearing in places as tiny as the surface of a virus and as majestic as the Grand Canyon. From ancient tribal peoples to modern painters to the animators of "Star Wars," artists have been captivated by fractals and have utilized them in their work. Computer buffs are wild about fractals as well, for they can be generated on ordinary home computers.
In "Fractals: The Patterns of Chaos," science writer John Briggs uses over 170 illustrations to clearly explain the significance -- and more importantly, the beauty -- of fractals. He describes how fractals were discovered, how they are formed, and the unique properties different fractals share. "Fractals" is a breathtaking guided tour of a brand new aesthetic of art, science, and nature. It will revolutionize the way you see the world and your place within it.
* Contains a special bibliography listing fractal generating software for desktop computers
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Hike into a forest and you are surrounded by fractals. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Hike into a forest and you are surrounded by fractals. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I just finished this book and wanted something to introduce me to fractal geomerty and chaos theory without having to be a mathematician, physicist, etc. This book is a fascinating trip through the fractal world we live in, written in layman's language, with lots of gorgeous pictures from the worlds of nature, art, science, computer graphics, and space. It describes clearly how these worlds interact, how fractal geometry differs from traditional geometry and how we're on the brink of exciting new discoveries. The ultimate recommendation is I got it for my dad (a retired math teacher) for Father's Day and he really liked it! Easy to read and leaves you anxious for more.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
With a degree in "Psychology/Aesthetics" from a school he won't name, the author has managed to read Scientific American articles and regurgitate them, calling himself a "science author". The new-age arm waving style of this book may be popular, but is quite hollow and often misleading.Statments such as: "A rice-grain-size ice crystal on an airplane wing will make it explode." and references to a photon's length should not be printed since they are so incorrect. I suggest the author and the editor both sign-up for a physics class at their nearest community college before they attach the word "science" to their titles.Sincerely,Michael LeitchPhysics Teacher and Flight InstructorBerkeley, California
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
14 reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
an easy to follow and lavishly illustrated guide
25 May 2001
Format:Paperback
I don't know enough about the mathematics of fractals to agree with the reader below who points out the author's lack of qualifications, but even with small mistakes like those, the book is a terrific introduction that requires no technical background. The author does an excellent job explaining not just how fractals were discovered and how to calculate them, but also how artists, writers, poets, and scientist use this information to explain and interpret the world around them. Most books I've read on fractals have a narrow focus. Also, with so many illustrations (this is a gorgeous book), layman explanations and far reaching applications, even the average reader can appreciate the beauty and power of fractals. I could not put it down and then had to start all over again!
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
fascinating introduction to fractals
10 July 1998
Format:Paperback
I just finished this book and wanted something to introduce me to fractal geomerty and chaos theory without having to be a mathematician, physicist, etc. This book is a fascinating trip through the fractal world we live in, written in layman's language, with lots of gorgeous pictures from the worlds of nature, art, science, computer graphics, and space. It describes clearly how these worlds interact, how fractal geometry differs from traditional geometry and how we're on the brink of exciting new discoveries. The ultimate recommendation is I got it for my dad (a retired math teacher) for Father's Day and he really liked it! Easy to read and leaves you anxious for more.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
No math, good as an introduction
29 Feb 2000
Format:Paperback
You will not learn how to make a fractal in this book, but it will make you be interested in the field. The pictures are really a marvelous example of fractals and their explanation is just nice. I've bought one for me and one as a present.
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