African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design (Paperback)

by Ron Eglash (Author) "Fractal geometry has emerged as one of the most exciting frontiers in the fusion between mathematics and information technology..." (more)
Key Phrases: organic romanticism, fractal architecture, mathematical anthropology, Native American, African American, Georg Cantor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Fractals are characterized by the repetition of similar patterns at ever-diminishing scales. Fractal geometry has emerged as one of the most exciting frontiers on the border between mathematics and information technology and can be seen in many of the swirling patterns produced by computer graphics. It has become a new tool for modeling in biology, geology, and other natural sciences.

Anthropologists have observed that the patterns produced in different cultures can be characterized by specific design themes. In Europe and America, we often see cities laid out in a grid pattern of straight streets and right-angle corners. In contrast, traditional African settlements tend to use fractal structure--circles of circles of circular dwellings, rectangular walls enclosing ever-smaller rectangles, and streets in which broad avenues branch down to tiny footpaths with striking geometric repetition. These indigenous fractals are not limited to architecture; their recursive patterns echo throughout many disparate African designs and knowledge systems.

Drawing on interviews with African designers, artists, and scientists, Ron Eglash investigates fractals in African architecture, traditional hairstyling, textiles, sculpture, painting, carving, metalwork, religion, games, practical craft, quantitative technologies, and symbolic systems. He also examines the political and social implications of the existence of African fractal geometry. His book makes a unique contribution to the study of mathematics, African culture, anthropology, and computer simulations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813526140
• ISBN-13: 978-0813526140
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #212,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book helps to render obsolete long-held myths., June 19, 1999

By	The African Institution (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: African Fractals: Modern Computing and Indigenous Design (Hardcover)

Ron Eglash's brilliant work on Afrikan fractals helps to shatter long-held myths and misconceptions about Afrikans, the most pervasive and pernicious of which is the notion of Afrikans (both on the Motherland and in the Diaspora) as inactive agents in history. This work motivated me to complete mine on chaos theory and Afrikan fractals. My longer reviews of Eglash's book appear in the Nexus Network Journal (vol. 2, 2000:165-168) and the Journal of Third World Studies (vol. xviii, no. 1, 2001:237-239), each reflecting the publication's genre and disciplinary focus. Dr. Abdul Karim Bangura is a researcher-in-residence at the Center for Global Peace and a professor of International Relations in the School of International Service at American University, and the director of The African Institution in Washington, DC. He is the author of 21 books and more than 200 scholarly articles.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a good introduction to African mathematics and fractal geometry, June 27, 2008

By	Patrick Regan (Northampton, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This book starts out with a presentation of fractal geometry which is very comprehensible and enjoyable. Next it covers specific aspects of fractal geometry and their relation to African society, architecture, fashion, art, divination and games. This part of the book is very fascinating. I learned a lot about how recursion works and how it is used in African buildings and fashions in the chapter on recursion. Other chapters in this section are Geometric algorithms, Scaling, Numeric systems, Infinity and Complexity. They are all very interesting. The final section is on the implications of the fact that Africans used this kind of mathematics. The author emphasizes the application of African fractal geometry to education especially the education of African Americans who sometimes feel alienated from math classes which focus on the achievements of European peoples. One thing that the author stresses is that the fractal designs of, say city planning, made by African peoples are not more "natural" than the Western approach of dividing cities into rectangles. He says this assumption dovetails into a preconception of African societies as being somehow closer to nature and therefore unsophisticated. The author points out that fractal mathematics is hardly simple and also not easily intuited either. I did not find myself making this assumption but apparently some people do fall into this trap. Anyway, I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting an introduction, with applications, to fractal geometry and its use in African societies. I also recommend this book to educators looking for a way to get their students, regardless of their background, to be more interested in mathematics.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ingenious first, recognition of 'African' Maths., June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This is a brilliant book. As an Architect, I was truly enlightened by the idea of the 'other' culture(s), having a valid scientific basis in fact. I was always told in Architectural school that the 'Africans',(including those in the diaspora) were a peoples without and writing systems, technological background and no culture. I'm glad to see evidence that this is not the truth. I thank the author for his contribution.