Computers and the imagination: Visual adventures beyond the edge [Hardcover]

Clifford A Pickover (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Art and science are conflated in Pickover's new discipline of "scientific visualizations," demonstrated here in a colorful sampler for math hobbyists and puzzle fans, containing computer-generated palindromes, Fibonacci-based structures, artificial spider webs and fractal palaces of wonder. Here is mathematics' beauty made visible, with super computers and a kind of cybernetic aesthetic. Pickover's short, sometimes puzzle-like presentations will give computer-literate readers the eerie feeling of being present at the creation of a mathematical world where imagination finds its tool in the scientific revolution. Pickover is the author of Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This very rich offering of interesting computer exercises contains a large number of brief chapters clustered into large sections such as Simulation, Speculation, Visualization, and Exploration. Each chapter or subchapter discusses one idea, picture equation, or concept and frequently provides a "pseudocode" for readers to generate examples on their own computers. The book is a stimulat ing potpourri for readers with a fair amount of mathematical and computer knowledge, although it will likely prove to be hard going for novices. The author is a specialist in computer graphics and its applications. Computers and the Imagination is recommended chiefly for academic and large public libraries.
- Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 419 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1ST edition (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312061315
• ISBN-13: 978-0312061319
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,103,767 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

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Mathematics, CGI, Biology & Art - A Tryst with Pickover", November 8, 2005

By 

Russell A. Rohde MD "Owl" (West Covina, California USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Computers and the imagination: Visual adventures beyond the edge (Hardcover)

"Computers and the Imagination," Clifford A. Pickover, NY, St. Martin's Press, 1991 ISBN 0-312-06131-5, HC 424 pg., includes 5 pg. Preface, 7 pg. Index, 4 pg. Glossary, 10 pg. Biblio., & 40 pg. Appendices. 9 1/2" x 6 1/4"

This unabashed, seasoned author's enticing colorful cover created by CGI promises to reveal fractals, B. Mandelbrot & (Gaston) Julia sets, a grueling exegesis on computerization & poetry, gene sequencing, visualization of (more-or-less) complex equations including continued (nesting) roots, chaos theory, Lissajous figures, the Gleichniszahlen-Reihe Monster, palindromes, Connell sequences (far out), Lute of Pythagorus, etc. Author's message: facilitate & promote readers to conceptualize mathematical transmogrifications. There is a certain beauty to this madness.

So, what's the book really about? It explores potential & predicted changes made possible by present-day computer technology in all spheres of our life: manufacturing, robotics, communications, arts & sciences, war & speculations on just about everything. Of great interest to me were the many amusing highly-detailed cartoon drawings accompanying every chapter and tongue-in-cheek whimsical stories --especially "The Twenty-Fourth Annual Meeting Of the Chaos Society." Pickover provides the reader with many challenging puzzles & problems to solve.

The book has been edited & assembled with profound attention to minute details to provide & provoke interest even to those readers without strong background in mathematics. The author is reminiscent (to me) of MARTIN GARDNER (Scientic American) who appropriately provided a positive introductory review for this book. If you are uncomfortable with numbers, take a pass & try Pickover's rambling "Sex, Drugs, Einstein, & Elves" (2005).