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XX. Fractal
Infernal Temporal Seed Body The
word fractal is
an adjective used to describe the
form of an object with parts that resemble smaller copies of the whole over a range of scale. Often, a
fractal object has a rough or fragmented geometric shape that one can subdivide into parts, each
part being, at least approximately, a reduced-size copy of the whole. Self-similarity of
part to whole means that as one peers deeper into a fractal form, one notices that
shapes seen at one scale are similar to the shapes seen in detail at another scale. Many mathematical
structures are fractal objects. Sierpinski triangles, Koch snowflakes, Peano curves,
Mandelbrot sets, and Lorenz attractors are examples of mathematical structures
that are fractal objects. When mathematicians use fractal geometry to derive
shapes, self-similarity between part and whole may extend over an infinite range of scales
from infinitely large to infinitesimally small. As one zooms in and out, the same kind of
shapes keep coming into view. Fractal
mathematics can also be used to describe the shape of many real-world objects, such as clouds, mountains, turbulence, and coastlines
that do not correspond to simple geometric shapes. When nature uses fractal geometry to
derive shapes, self-similarity is common over a finite range of scales. The cauliflower is
perhaps a familiar example of the self-similarity of fractal geometry over a finite range
of scales. If one breaks a cauliflower into many pieces, most if not all the pieces
resemble a miniature version of a whole cauliflower. The same goes for many natural
features such as trees, rivers, clouds, and mountains. As one zooms in one notices that the
shape of smaller parts resembles the shape of the whole. A system is a
group of interacting parts functioning as a whole and distinguishable from its
surroundings by recognizable boundaries. To describe a system as dynamic is essentially to
describe a system as changing over time. To describe the behavior and or condition of a
dynamic system as chaotic is to recognize that the group of interacting parts that make up
the dynamic system each exert their own influence over the future condition of the
whole. Complexity of a chaotic dynamic system makes the precise prediction of the
future condition of any one of its’ parts next to impossible.
A seed grows over
time into a body. We cannot precisely predict the future condition of the body by
analyzing the present and past condition of the parents’ bodies and or by analyzing the
DNA that directs the future development of a seed body because the future development of a
seed body is also dependent upon the influence of other parts of the universe around and
within it. We can predict a range of possibilities and probabilities for the future
condition of any given seed developing over time into a body. The range of possibilities
and probabilities is the seed bodies’ strange attractor. Fractal geometry
tells the story of the wild things that happen to the form and shape of chaotic dynamic systems as these develop
and evolve over time. A fractal then, is the shape of a form created by a fracture in the geometry of the earth
left by a quake or the winding coastline printed with the turbulence of the ocean and
erosion. A fractal is shape of a form created by the branching structure of a fern that traces the process of its
growth. A fractal is the shape of a form created by scrambled edges of ice as it freezes. A fractal is
the shape of a form created by the spacing of
stars in the night sky. A fractal is the shape of a form created by the clouds and plumes of pollution spreading out from
a power plant. Even the intricacy of snowflakes with a six-fold symmetry of crystals
is the fractal result of a chaotic dynamic process of a crystal building itself over time.
Because fractal geometry accurately describes the shapes of many natural structures,
special effect artists can apply computer technology and knowledge of fractal geometry to
the task of generating images of convincing alien landscapes.
The planet Earth
itself is essentially a slow-moving glob of liquid iron surrounded by a slightly
faster-flowing glob of liquid rock covered by a thin crust. On the ocean floor, some of
the crust is being sucked into the cauldron beneath, while tectonic plates grind into each
other, spawning volcanic eruptions and earthquakes: fractal and chaotic signs of the
immense dynamism of the living place we call Earth. Since everywhere on Earth’s thin
crust, the natural landscape is being hewn by chaos into shapes with branches, folds and
fractures, and detail inside detail, the immense intermeshing of dynamical forces
constitutes the eternal, ever changing dissonance and harmony of nature that has attracted
the attention of scientists and artists throughout the centuries. As the universe
explodes and expands, it leaves behind a fractal imprint of swirling turbulent gases, star
fields, and repeating forms. The shape of the form created by each sub-atomic particle, atomic element, star, and galaxy is
similar to every other of its’ kind in the fractal universe. Every life form of a given
species is made in the fractal image of every other life form of a given species. The fractal universe exhibits self-similarity on
scales of size. No matter how deeply we peer into space, more detail will always unfold
that resembles details seen on a larger scale. From elementary particles to super clusters
of galaxies we see parts collected to form "wholes'" and the latter collected
into larger "wholes," and so on. Virtually all of the atomic mass of the known
universe is lumped into stars, and virtually all stars collect into galaxies. In between
atomic scale objects and stellar scale objects, there are many interesting classes of
objects, including us, but these are quite rare relative to the dominant classes of
objects. Therefore, to a first approximation, a discrete hierarchy organizes the portion
of nature that we can directly observe. Given the strong stratification of the
cosmological hierarchy, our universe at least has a very rudimentary self-similar
organization: galactic "particles" are composed of stellar
"particles", are composed of atomic "particles". Fractal geometry
is everywhere. The structure of our bodies with their branching of nerves, bronchial
tubes, veins, and arteries, is replete with fractal geometry. Our cells are self-similar
in that each contains a copy of the genetic blueprint of self. Our bodies exhibit
self-similarity on a finite scale in that organelles contained within our cells function
similar to the organs contained within our bodies. Therefore, perhaps it is only natural;
that I should come to celebrate a model of existence that exhibits fractal geometry;
and use the word fractal as an adjective to describe the quality of space inherent within our seed
bodies and our universe. I think of life as
a synthesis of seed, body, soul, and spirit that forms a living, infernal,
fractal entity or L.I.F.E. form. Infernal is an
adjective. An adjective describes a noun: a person, place, or thing. In this case, the
adjective infernal describes the quality of the noun body as being of or relating to the
lower world of the dead. The lower world of the dead is the universe because as far as I
know no body comes out of this universe alive. Every body that grows from a seed within
our universe is subject to a life cycle that ends in disease and death. Furthermore, the
adjective infernal is similar to the noun inferno. The noun inferno describes a place or a
condition suggestive of a place where burning generates heat. The body is a place where
burning generates heat. The body uses oxygen to burn food and generate heat. Molten magma
exists under the crust of the Earth. When and if this molten magma breaks through the
crust and erupts on to the surface of Earth, we may observe by use of our senses burning
and the generation of heat. The universe is a place where burning generates heat. The
energy of the universe is composed of galaxies that are composed of stars that burn
hydrogen and other heavier elements in thermonuclear reactions to produce heavier elements
and heat. Therefore, I use the adjective infernal to describe the quality of both the noun
body and the noun universe. Scientists
currently predict that eventually our bodies, life on earth, the stars, galaxies, and
the burning
of thermonuclear furnaces throughout our universe will end. Therefore, I use the adjective
temporal to describe the longevity of the noun body and the noun universe. |
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