The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals [Paperback]

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon (Author), Arthur C. Clarke (Author), David Gilmour (Contributor), Michael Barnsley (Contributor), Benoit Mandelbrot (Contributor), Ian Stewart (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon has published poems and short stories in the UK, the US, and France. He formed his first film production company in 1976, and worked for Donovan, Pink Floyd, 10cc, Joe Cocker, Wings, and Leo Sayer. Gordon Films UK was formed in 1995 to produce the award-winning television documentary "The Colours of Infinity". His first book was "Introducing Fractal Geometry".

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Clear Books; Pap/Dvdr edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904555055
• ISBN-13: 978-1904555056
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,010,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, DVD not NTSC!!!, September 19, 2004

By 

L. Botha - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals (Paperback)

This is a very good introduction to fractals, but I found the book light on mathematical details (for some this might be an advantage?!). Unfortunately the included DVD is not in NTSC format, so it will not play on many USA DVD players (I had to watch it on my PC :-(

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly recommended survey of fractual creations and math, November 9, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals (Paperback)

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.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but could be better....., August 26, 2005

By 

Boss of the Floss "J. D. Schatz, RDH" (Wrentham, MA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Colours of Infinity: The Beauty, The Power and the Sense of Fractals (Paperback)

This book is very informative about fractals but the DVD can only be watched on my computer. Nowhere did it say thet it could not be viewed on a TV. I wish it had said so.