Computers, Pattern, Chaos and Beauty [Paperback]

Clifford A. Pickover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 24, 2001

Combining fractal theory with computer art, this book introduces a creative use of computers. It describes graphic methods for detecting patterns in complicated data and illustrates simple techniques for visualizing chaotic behavior. "Beautiful." — Martin Gardner, Scientific American. Over 275 illustrations, 29 in color.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Computer graphics reveal hidden relationships in complex systems, make confusing data understandable and provide scientists and mathematicians with a tool for discovery and problem-solving. Featuring 200 black-and-white computer images and eight pages in color, this sourcebook includes programming exercises and mathematical recreations. Though most of the narrative requires advanced mathematical understanding, the general reader will find the computer artwork intriguing. The sounds of human speech yield snowflake-like patterns; Art Nouveau-ish images emerge out of mathematical relationships; structural changes in biomolecules produce graphics resembling galaxies and whirlpools. Diligent readers will gain an appreciation of how computer imaging helps scientists simulate plant tendril growth, analyze the Shroud of Turin, unravel the structure of cancer genes and investigate spiral patterns in DNA and galaxies' arms. Pickover is an editor at Computers and Graphics.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Author

Loaded with stunning computer-generated images, I attempt to reveal an entirely new way of seeing. Topics include: computers and creativity; lateral thinking; hidden patterns in nature, music, genetics and sounds; musical snowflakes, fractal speech, the Shroud of Turin, genesis fractals, biomorphs, chaos, synthesizing nature, cellular automata, ornamental patterns, symmetry, mathematics and beauty, and much more.

Here is what others have said about the book:

"Chaos and fractals are revolutionary topics these days as they find increasing applications in science, pure mathematics, and computer graphics. Dr. Clifford Pickover, long at the center of this cyclone, has produced a truly stunning survey of its manifold consequences. No informed layperson, artist, scientist, or mathematician should pass up the experience of stepping through the portals of this beautiful book into the fantastic new worlds that computers are now exploring in the way a telescope or microscope explores the awesome wonders of nature." - Martin Gardner

"Pickover takes the reader on a stimulating odyssey through the world of computer graphics, a world that surprisingly involves the Shroud of Turin, snowflakes, and the genes that cause cancer." - Paul Hoffman

"A spectacular encounter between the art of the mathematician and the mathematics of art." - Ian Stewart

"A cornucopia of visual ideas, Pickover's book unveils one eye-catching vista after another at the frontiers of scientific and mathematical visualization." - Ivars Peterson, Science News

"It is unfortunate that modern Western man has come to perceive the arts and the sciences as separate, conflicting lines of human endeavor. Pickover's book reunites these disciplines with a marriage of substantive technical content and expertly crafted prose." -Ben Bacon

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486417093
• ISBN-13: 978-0486417097
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,338,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

From my publisher:

Clifford A. Pickover received his Ph.D. from Yale University and is the author of over 30 books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, black holes, religion, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, alien life, and science fiction.

Pickover is a prolific inventor with dozens of patents, is the associate editor for several journals, the author of colorful puzzle calendars, and puzzle contributor to magazines geared to children and adults.

WIRED magazine writes, "Bucky Fuller thought big, Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." According to The Los Angeles Times, "Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he stretches the limits of computers, art and thought."
The Christian Science Monitor writes, "Pickover inspires a new generation of da Vincis to build unknown flying machines and create new Mona Lisas." Pickover's computer graphics have been featured on the cover of many popular magazines and on TV shows.

His web site, Pickover.Com, has received millions of visits. His Blog RealityCarnival.Com is one of his most popular sites.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The algorithms let you work wonders, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Computers, Pattern, Chaos and Beauty: Graphics from an Unseen World (Paperback)

The algorithms presented in the book are simply too fascinating to be true. Each illustration of fractals or the strange attractors are accompanied by an algorithm which I tried with "C" language. They work excellently and it is a visual treat to watch the fractals unfold, strange attractors trace out intricate patterns and the Pascal Triangle rise like a phoenix before your own eyes. Each algorithm you translate into a program gives you immense joy at having discovered a new hidden hand that leads nature and beauty through the illuminating principles of mathematics and reaveals the deepest mysteries of nature in close collusion with the arcane folds of mathematics.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for Everyone, a smorgasbord of wonders, February 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Computers, Pattern, Chaos and Beauty: Graphics from an Unseen World (Paperback)

This book inspires and entrances with something for everyone, from the adventurer with an artistic eye, to the most esoteric mathematics devotee. At practically any level of understanding, it provokes the desire for learning, and an aesthetic appreciation for math that is usually reserved for those who make higher math their lives' work. Best of all, this book can be "grazed", i.e., read out of order and sporadically, gaining benefit where one may. A must-browse for anyone who has ever wondered how mathematics could ever be interesting or powerful.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Renaissance work, May 19, 2007

By 

J. MOLDOVAN - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Computers, Pattern, Chaos and Beauty (Paperback)

Clifford A. Pickover is a Renaissance man. He may not like the label but for me it is one of the highest accolades of intellectual accomplishment. A quick scan through this book is enough to confirm his standing: mathematics, computer programming, art, medicine, music, speech, biochemistry, electronics, education, biology, aesthetics etc. etc. It's all there.

This is one of my favourite books and is getting quite dog-eared by the constant use it gets. It is a book to enjoy as well as to refer-to, a book to cheer you up and to fill you with wonder. Not that it is perfect mind you. Far from it. It is now quite dated and the illustrations could do with a decent makeover. The treatment is often abrupt and episodic and the writing is sometimes hurried and muggy. But who cares! The overall effect is of frenzied genius and lively enquiry.

My main interest was in Chapter 14. Dynamic Systems. It is not an in-depth treatment by any means but it yields some beautiful ideas. I implemented and experimented with most of the algorithms in the chapter. They work and provide some essential insight into the evolutionary nature of most complex systems.

Get the book. The reference list by itself is worth the price.