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The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals | 
 enlarge | Author: Nigel Lesmoir-gordon
Publisher: Clear Books
Category: Book
Buy Used: $69.99
Used (6) Collectible (1) from $69.99
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 361035
Media: Paperback
Edition: Pap/Dvdr
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 1904555055
Dewey Decimal Number: 514.742
EAN: 9781904555056
Publication Date: September 1, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Excellent condition, very clean, guaranteed!
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Product Description
Benoit Mandelbrot discovered what is now called the M-Set in the early seventies and coined the term fractal to describe the geometry behind it. The power and the beauty of fractals were only capable of being seen with the advent of computers, which become psychedelic windows on the infinite when using simple fractal equations. In 1992 Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon made the TV documentary, The Colors of Infinity about the Mandelbrot Set and fractals, which has since been seen right round the world. Nigel s enthusiasm brought together a dream team of contributors for the film who all now contribute to the book tracking how fractals have developed since the film was made. Sir Arthur C Clarke presented the film and in the book gives a lucidly simple account of the mathematics of the M-Set. Benoit Mandelbrot, the Belgian mathematician explains how it began. Professor Michael Barnsley, the computer graphics researcher who developed fractal image compression technology, explains the applications of the breakthroughs. Professor Ian Stewart, author of Does God Play Dice? adds his insights into the beautifully simple equation that gives birth to fractals. Two of the most interesting applications of fractal geometry, reflected by the two new contributors to the book, are to the Internet and to the Stock Market. Dr Gary Flake, Chief Technology Officer at Overture, the leading provider of commercial search on the Internet and just taken over by Yahoo for 1.6 billion dollars, discusses the profoundly fractal nature of the Web in his article: The Self-ish Web. Robert Prechter Jr is President of Elliott Wave International, Inc. and founder of the Socionomics Institute. His latest title is Socionomics: The Science of History and Social Prediction (2003). He writes about how fractals can help us understand the oscillations of stock markets. In the back of the book is a DVD of the original documentary with soundtrack by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd PLUS a 30-minute fractal animation to the music of members of Quintessence.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 Fractal Visions December 4, 2006
The Dilettante
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Fractals were just hitting the popular consciousness when I was in high school. I remember a flurry of pop science books that came out around that time, all of which presented the wonderful fractal images, while nevertheless dancing quite vaguely around the underlying ideas. The questions these mushheaded books immediately provoked in me (i.e. "what does 'self-similar' actually MEAN?" and "is complexity an objective quality or in the eye of the beholder?) were left totally unanswered. In my high school, these books (and the fractal posters, key-chains, videos, water-pipes...) commanded the attention of an intellectually philistine (and usually highly-intoxicated) crowd. People who use "party" as a verb. This "whoa dude-it's a fractal" factor was so powerful that it left the whole topic kind of disreputable in my book...until now.
This,too, is a "pop" science book, after a fashion, but unlike those other fractal books, the authors here refuse to dumb the subject down to a mere collection of pretty pictures. There is enough detail here to permit a diligent reader to truly understand the logic behind fractal geometry. If you can grasp the math, the basics are here. If, like me, you are a "liberal arts" type, the concepts are also explained in precise English.
The content of the video is similarly excellent. The interviews with Benoit Mandelbrot and Stephen Hawking are very cool indeed, but my favorite part is when Arthur C. Clarke states that, while he doesn't know about this PERSONALLY, "the ingestion of certain illegal substances produces fractal visions." Clad in his trademark blue utility shirt, and with a perfectly straight face, Clarke goes on to note the similarity between the words "Mandelbrot" and "Mandala." (Whoa, dude!)
Unfortunately, the video itself (i.e. formally, visually) is pretty dated. It seems to have been made for VHS, and has not been cleaned up for the DVD release at all. The colors are bled, and the titles look like they were made on a Commodore 64. The fractal images are quite low-resolution, which is unfortunate, since fractals are one topic for which high resolution would seem particularly essential. (Then again, NO level of resolution would really be sufficient.) This video is just begging to be remastered. With contemporary high-def video and computer technology it would be absolutely jaw-dropping. Still, this is totally worth it.
The Colours of Enlightenment March 9, 2007
Mark L. La Roue (Portland, OR USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Depending upon one's education, it is possible to gain either an art appreciation of the fractal geometry of the Mandelbott Set or a realization of how all life is ordered and the universe structured. Life most certainly would exist somewhere out there and it would resemble what we have here on Earth. While viewing it, I felt that this was at least fifty percent of the riddle of the universe explained in at least its basis. The other fifty percent would be what Stephen Hawkin called the other formulae that will reverse this one. He hopes we will find this one before it begins to act in its turn. That would mark the collapse of the universe and he seems to think that we might prevent that. But the collapse may be inevitable and part of the eternal operation of two formulae.
The Mystery remains; was this ordered and if so, by whom or what? We may never know, but for this devastating mystery, we have David Gilmour's compelling score to propel us along through an eternal race toward infinity.
My only complaint is that the film needs re-mastering so that the fractal geometry can be expressed better. Ironic that the documentary that defines the detail of the universe is so fuzzy! Also, there is a second section of fractal art expression on the DVD that will only play on a computer. That ought to be fixed. I think it is fitting that Arthur C. Clarke is the narrator for this film, so I hope this original can be cleaned up and not trashed for an updated version with all new presentation and cast.
This documentary should be shown in all high-school science classes. In fact, I think it ought to be shown to everyone regardless of partticipation in science curriculum because it also assists the refinement of questions like evolution and religion.
A highly recommended survey of fractual creations and math November 9, 2004
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
The beauty and color of fractals is captured in a documentary also included on the DVD accompanying this unique and informative book. Introduced by Arthur C. Clarke, The Colours Of Infinity has received world-wide television coverage and ten years ago brought the subject of fractals to the general public for the first time: geometric exploration is brought to the general reader's attention here, in a fine and highly recommended survey of fractual creations and math.
The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals November 10, 2006
S. J. Mackenzie
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This combination book and DVD is excellent and comes at a very reasonable price. The illustrations in the book are beautiful and the DVD is a magnificent pictoral display of fractals as well as excellent descriptions of the history of fractals and the people who discovered them and developed them. Clarke narrates the DVD which I have watched several times and am never bored. The book compliments the DVD and visa versa. I can't imagine a more complete and picturesque presentation. I am a beginner in learning about fractals and this was a perfect purchase for me.
DVD problems were corrected March 16, 2006
J. R. Westcott
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
The DVD is now correct for American DVD players. Beautiful book accompanied by beautiful documentary.
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