chaoticutopia | March 3, 2007If you're a fan of puzzles or mystery games, or just happen to enjoy strange montages of Victorian clip art, check out my review of Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst. I'm afraid it's been far too long since I've done a game review at CasualGameplay.com. Jay and his crew are well known for their reviews of quality games. I thought Ravenhearst was a wonderful addition. You can get most of my thoughts on the game in my review. There was one small bit that bothered me as a fan of science, but it was such a small detail, I let it slide. But, if you download the game and would like a bonus puzzle:…
chaoticutopia | March 2, 2007For today's fractal, here's something abstract:
The Lines Between*
*Left open to interpretation.
If that seems too intangible, how about no lines at all, just points? This fun little toy, called MandelSwarm, allows you to explore the Mandelbrot set with "magnetized particles." (That's the best description I could come up with, anyways.) It's one of those things you have to try for yourself. Drag the window around as you like, using + or - to zoom in and out, and enter to refresh the particles. MandelSwarm is one of the more unique forms of fractal exploration that I've run across, and…
chaoticutopia | February 28, 2007Just in case you missed the date on the headline, it is midnight, after February 28th, and just before March 1st. If there were a day in between yesterday and tomorrow, it would be my birthday. But there isn't. Next year, there will be one. This isn't next year. This year, I lack a birthday. (It could very be ingenious paradoxes such as these which led to my dabbling in the existential arts.)
A lurking friend of mine (also a fellow Talking Heads fan) sent me the following video along with (un)birthday wishes. Thanks, J!
If you really must know, next year at this time, I'll be having my…
chaoticutopia | February 28, 2007
Watch out... we may be in hot water soon. At least, we can hope. It seems one of our most pressing issues is sustainability. We need a source for energy which is clean, renewable, and has very little impact on the surrounding environment. Without it, we will continue to use up limited amounts of fossil fuels, polluting and affecting our ecosystem along the way. So, what if the ideal source rests right under our feet?
Down there? What's down there, you might ask. Dirt, rock, and more rock. Ah, but at some level, we find water permeating the rock. That's it. Oh, yes, and heat too. You can go…
chaoticutopia | February 26, 2007If you're looking for a late evening distraction,* or just didn't want the last weekend to end, why not unwind with a few casual games? Every year, Jay at CasualGaming.com hosts a flash game competition, drawing out some of the most talented puzzle designers in the business. The deadline for entries into the 2007 contest has passed, and the first games are starting to appear on the site.
All the games are free, and typically can be solved in one sitting. The theme this year is grow. There were no further specifications... so an entry could be about trees, adolescence, evolution, chia pets,…
chaoticutopia | February 23, 2007This might sound familiar: In Domain*, school officials created nonsensical conflicts by placing labels on science textbooks... but to whose benefit?
Note: (*) Domain is a fictional, "furry" world, created by Bill Holbrook for one of my favorite webcomics, Kevin and Kell.
chaoticutopia | February 23, 2007A fractal wave:
This wave-like x/y Julia set (enhanced with fBm noise) was inspired by one of my favorite works of art, a Japanese woodcut:
The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai
Incidentally, I borrowed this image from a Belgian workshop specializing in intricate designs on silver, Wolfers. Many of their pieces have been inspired by the same image. These works, sculpted from solid metal, seem to flow like waves of water. If you like that sort of thing, be sure to check out their other works.
Silver art and woodcut via Wolfers. All fractals made by the author using ChaosPro
chaoticutopia | February 23, 2007Since the problems mentioned in my last post seem to have compounded* I've decided to wait until next week to post the conclusion to the "Power of Water." In the meantime, I'll share some casual distractions. (Just in case you need a break as much as I do.) The theme of these distractions might be "water" or perhaps just plain "weirdness." The theme may be "waves" or maybe it's "battles". I won't promise anything. That's chaos for you... you never know exactly how it will turn out.
Note: (*) We had one leak fixed, only to discover another. Luckily, we had this one fixed before it caused any…
chaoticutopia | February 21, 2007Over the past few days, as I've suffered through home repairs, caring for a sick child, and a bit of writer's block, I've been contemplating the power of one of our most basic resources: water. We tend to take this simple fluid for granted, barely noticing it sitting in a glass on a restaurant table, or flowing out of the bathroom faucet.
Of course, all you need is a corroded washer, and all of a sudden, the water coming out of the faucet is more noticeable. (drip drip drip drip drip...) Soon, a little water becomes a destructive force. I noticed this as a leaky faucet in my bathroom,…
chaoticutopia | February 16, 2007What do you get when you cross squid-mania with fractal art? "Mandelbrotopus! Octomandelpus! Cephalbrotopod! Fractalpod! Fractalpus! Iteratopod! Octomandelfractalpusopod!" to quote ScienceBlogs reader and wildlife photographer, Martin Richard. Of course, Martin was refering to Mandelbrot sets and octopi, and today we have a bioluminescent squid and a Nova Julia set. So, perhaps we should call it Squidlyglofractolopod! Or Cephanovataninga? Maybe Julioctonovadanae? Well, whatever you want to call it, this week's fractal is quite tentacle-like:
Unfortunately, my fractal tentacles don't quite…
chaoticutopia | February 14, 2007
Last Valentine's Day, I posted a few fictional pieces describing different aspects of romantic relationships-a tender sonnet for the hopelessly romantic and a wicked horror story for the bitter and jaded.
This year, I seem to be running behind. So, rather than highlight the extremes of love, I thought I'd go for the ambiguous. The following poem is a recent work of mine, and I haven't had time to polish it up as I would like, so it is a little rougher than usual. It captures the idea I was looking for... that a relationship of any sort requires some give and take, some yielding, in order to…
chaoticutopia | February 14, 2007I missed my regular blogging time yesterday, as I was scratching my head, trying to solve Kevin Beck's latest logic problem. In the end, I figured it out, but it was a tough one. I've always been a fan of these types of puzzles, and this one was particularly delightful, and not just for the challenge it posed. You see, some of the characters, sporting outlandish styles and odd habits, seemed a little familiar. I was shocked to discover that.... er.... well, I can't tell you, without spoiling the solution. I'll let you figure it out for yourself. Good luck!
chaoticutopia | February 12, 2007Happy Birthday 198th Birthday
Thank you, Mr. Darwin, for showing us the bewitchingly simple way life can change and become more complex over time.
The Alliance for Science is holding a Darwin Day essay contest for high school students, with an intriguing question and cash prizes. If you're interested in participating, or would like to donate prizes to the cause, be sure to check Neurotopia for more information.
chaoticutopia | February 9, 2007Fractal Cognition:
An abstract layered fractal, incorporating two types of Julia sets and an L-System fractal (pictured at right, below)
This fractal was inspired by some of the ideas I've posted lately. Here are a few tidbits for context:
We only see a fraction of an ever-changing cosmos. Each fragment that we observe, whether within ourselves or gleaned from the sensations registered in our minds, adds to the entropy of the cosmos, inducing more change. It is an imperfect pursuit, but we are active participants, whether we choose to look, or not. It is important for humankind, armed…
chaoticutopia | February 8, 2007
Here is another philosophy paper of mine, which I find to be increasingly relevant, all the time. It describes how a computer might soon have a consciousness equivalent or surpassing the human consciousness: philosophy with a bit of AI theory mingled with a touch of neuroscience.
When I got the paper back from my philosophy instructor, it had a perfect score and hardly any marks. I balked. (I'm one of those self-critical perfectionist types--it couldn't have been 100% without an editor!) When I approached him about it, he told me it was one of the best arguments he had heard on the subject,…
chaoticutopia | February 7, 2007
Yesterday, I posted a paper discussing a potential flaw in our perception of reality. Here, I review an article from Scientific American Mind, suggesting how such "flaws" occur from a neurological standpoint.
A Delay from Reality
By Karmen Lee Franklin
Imagine being witness to a spectacular car accident. The scene seems to happen in slow motion; you notice every detail as it unfolds, such as the sound of crunching metal or scattering shards of glass twinkling in the sun. Later, you realize how late the accident has caused you to be, and notice time passing quickly as you race to your…
chaoticutopia | February 6, 2007
Many science bloggers are dedicating this week to a week of pure science, in which they are posting a single non-controversial science piece each day. Since I barely manage to get out a quality post every other day, and also since I'm writing a paper on a controversial subject (global warming), I had to decline my invitation to join. However, I admire their effort, and so I'll try to at least be a bit more serious this week. In other words, I'll share some old papers with actual citations in them, rather than just muttering about chaos and posting pretty pictures. I've chosen a few which…
chaoticutopia | February 2, 2007Well, technically, it's still Friday somewhere...
It is bitterly cold in Colorado right now, somewhere around 10 degrees below 0, Fahrenheit. It was a bit warmer than that at sunset, when I spent some time admiring the fractal patterns in tree branches. (I'll confess, it's a favorite hobby of mine.) The windswept clouds, highlighted by the setting sun, made a lovely backdrop for the bare limbs. I realized, as snow drifted around my ankles, that I might be able to share the scene without the biting freeze. So, I was inspired to create a last minute layered fractal of trees:
The geometric…
chaoticutopia | January 31, 2007I've been in a creative mood this week, and I decided to take it out on my notebook pc:
Many people like to personalize their laptops with a unique bumper sticker or something similar. I couldn't find the right sticker, so I ended up doing my own thing. I took a bit of inspiration from the week of spirals I posted this last November, especially the pop art mosaic spiral. First, I painted a black background, then used some decoupage medium (gooey stuff that dries hard and clear) to seal in the tiles. The "tiles" are bits of scrapbook and origami paper, mixed with a few photos and a few of my…