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Introducing Graphic Guides
Introducing Fractals: A Graphic Guide: A Graphic Guide
From Zeno to explore this new language with which you can describe the shape of cloud as precisely as an architect can describe a house.
357 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 29, 1996
256 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon
19 books14 followers NIGEL LESMOIR-GORDON
I came into this world in the midst of the Second World War, appearing among the soaring academic towers of Cambridge – the last outpost of ‘civilisation’ before the black-soiled, windswept fens ran their endless way up to King’s Lynn and The Wash. I grew up in the austere and reactionary spirit of post-war England. People felt lucky to be alive. So many had died and there were shortages. Most of our ships had been sunk and we lived under the heavy-hanging threat of nuclear annihilation.
By the time I had made it into my teens Cambridge had blossomed and become prosperous and I grew up in a privileged world. I was 13 when I went off to board at Oundle School and Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel burst incandescently upon the world. I began writing at Oundle and published poems and short stories in the UK, the USA and in France. I toured the UK performing with my poetry & jazz group. My interest in film took me to the London School of Film Technique in 1965. When I left Cambridge to go to the school I moved into a flat in Cromwell Road, South Kensington – the infamous ‘101’. When David Gale wrote about 101 in The Independent he recalled:
“As the 60s began to generate heat, I found myself running with a fast crowd. I had moved into a flat near the Royal College of Art. I shared the flat with some close friends from Cambridge, including Syd Barrett, who was busy becoming a rock star with Pink Floyd. A few hundred yards down the street at 101 Cromwell Road, our preternaturally cool friend Nigel was running the hipster equivalent of an arty salon. Between our place and his, there passed the cream of London alternative society - poets, painters, film-makers, charlatans, activists, bores and self-styled visionaries. It was a good time for name-dropping: how could I forget the time at Nigel’s when I came across Allen Ginsberg asleep on a divan with a tiny white kitten on his bare chest? And wasn't that Mick Jagger visible through the fumes? Look, there's Nigel's postcard from William Burroughs, who looks forward to meeting him when next he visits London!”
During a weekend spent in Cambridge with old friends as part of my experimental work at film school I shot the now cult-movie classic Syd Barrett’s First Trip.
When I joined the industry as an editor I worked for Hugh Hudson, director of Chariots of Fire, on TV commercials and documentaries. The film Performance was produced from his Chelsea studios. In 1968 I was commissioned by Mick Jagger to co-write a screenplay with Christopher Gibbs (the set designer on Performance) called The Quest. Marianne Faithfull writes about this project in her biography Faithfull. Mick, Keith and Marianne were already cast and keen to make it. The script we wrote drew on Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology and romantic poetry. Donovan had been writing music for the film and was disappointed when the project stalled due to other Rolling Stones commitments. To make up for this he suggested that I produce and direct a film of him making music sailing through the islands of the Aegean Sea with a small acoustic band. The band was called Open Road and the completed 30-minute film was There is an Ocean.
I then moved to the BBC as an editor, cutting dramas and documentaries for two years. I went on to work with Pink Floyd, 10cc, Squeeze, Rainbow, Joe Cocker, Big Country, Wings, Paul Nicholas and Leo Sayer amongst others in the 70’s.
I concentrated on commercials and corporate videos throughout the 80s. I wrote and directed Regiment a documentary about the Royal Air Force’s Infantry Regiment before I made the award-winning television documentary The Colours of Infinity, presented by Sir Arthur C. Clarke with music by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd in 1993. The Colours of Infinity has been broadcast in over fifty territories. It brought the Mandelbrot set and the subject of fractals to the attention of the general public for the first time.
I also directed The Bobby Charlton Story
I came into this world in the midst of the Second World War, appearing among the soaring academic towers of Cambridge – the last outpost of ‘civilisation’ before the black-soiled, windswept fens ran their endless way up to King’s Lynn and The Wash. I grew up in the austere and reactionary spirit of post-war England. People felt lucky to be alive. So many had died and there were shortages. Most of our ships had been sunk and we lived under the heavy-hanging threat of nuclear annihilation.
By the time I had made it into my teens Cambridge had blossomed and become prosperous and I grew up in a privileged world. I was 13 when I went off to board at Oundle School and Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel burst incandescently upon the world. I began writing at Oundle and published poems and short stories in the UK, the USA and in France. I toured the UK performing with my poetry & jazz group. My interest in film took me to the London School of Film Technique in 1965. When I left Cambridge to go to the school I moved into a flat in Cromwell Road, South Kensington – the infamous ‘101’. When David Gale wrote about 101 in The Independent he recalled:
“As the 60s began to generate heat, I found myself running with a fast crowd. I had moved into a flat near the Royal College of Art. I shared the flat with some close friends from Cambridge, including Syd Barrett, who was busy becoming a rock star with Pink Floyd. A few hundred yards down the street at 101 Cromwell Road, our preternaturally cool friend Nigel was running the hipster equivalent of an arty salon. Between our place and his, there passed the cream of London alternative society - poets, painters, film-makers, charlatans, activists, bores and self-styled visionaries. It was a good time for name-dropping: how could I forget the time at Nigel’s when I came across Allen Ginsberg asleep on a divan with a tiny white kitten on his bare chest? And wasn't that Mick Jagger visible through the fumes? Look, there's Nigel's postcard from William Burroughs, who looks forward to meeting him when next he visits London!”
During a weekend spent in Cambridge with old friends as part of my experimental work at film school I shot the now cult-movie classic Syd Barrett’s First Trip.
When I joined the industry as an editor I worked for Hugh Hudson, director of Chariots of Fire, on TV commercials and documentaries. The film Performance was produced from his Chelsea studios. In 1968 I was commissioned by Mick Jagger to co-write a screenplay with Christopher Gibbs (the set designer on Performance) called The Quest. Marianne Faithfull writes about this project in her biography Faithfull. Mick, Keith and Marianne were already cast and keen to make it. The script we wrote drew on Arthurian legend, Celtic mythology and romantic poetry. Donovan had been writing music for the film and was disappointed when the project stalled due to other Rolling Stones commitments. To make up for this he suggested that I produce and direct a film of him making music sailing through the islands of the Aegean Sea with a small acoustic band. The band was called Open Road and the completed 30-minute film was There is an Ocean.
I then moved to the BBC as an editor, cutting dramas and documentaries for two years. I went on to work with Pink Floyd, 10cc, Squeeze, Rainbow, Joe Cocker, Big Country, Wings, Paul Nicholas and Leo Sayer amongst others in the 70’s.
I concentrated on commercials and corporate videos throughout the 80s. I wrote and directed Regiment a documentary about the Royal Air Force’s Infantry Regiment before I made the award-winning television documentary The Colours of Infinity, presented by Sir Arthur C. Clarke with music by David Gilmour of Pink Floyd in 1993. The Colours of Infinity has been broadcast in over fifty territories. It brought the Mandelbrot set and the subject of fractals to the attention of the general public for the first time.
I also directed The Bobby Charlton Story
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 64 reviews
December 13, 2017
If fractals and the math behind them interest you then this is a great introduction to the subject. Instead of the usual woo that you find in a lot of books on the subject a great deal of time is spent showing the application of fractal mathematics to practical issues and research in engineering, social structures and human behavior, astronomy and cosmology and the stock market to name a few.
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June 10, 2022نسخه (هر دو نسخه ترجمه موجود) ترجمه فارسی اش را مطالعه کردم ، ترجمه های آقایان مجتبی سلطانی (نشر پردیس دانش) و سید علی خرازی (نشر پژواک)
ترجمه : هردو ترجمه قابل قبول به عنوان ترجمه یک کتاب غیر تخصصی ، اما بسیاری از لغات فنی اصلا ترجمه ظریفی نداشتند گاها هم کاملا غلط بودند !
چاپ : جنس کاغد و کیفیت چاپ و صحافی پژواک خوب اما پردیس دانش ضعیف بود اما نکته مهم تر اینکه تصاویر سری قدم اول (که نسخه انگلیسیشان تحت عنوان a graphic guide منتشر می شود) مهم ترین جز آن اند ، مانند کمیک سری ها و مانگا ها ، و نشر پژواک احتمالا تصاویر را از نسخه های الکرونیک کم کیفیت اخذ کرده و تصاویرش بی کیفیت اند !
محتوا : بطور کلی تمامی کتب راهنمای گرافیکی بسیار ساده و خوشخوان و مفرح اند و البته در مواردی که کتاب ترویجی و عمومی بهتر دیگری در موضوع مورد نظر در دسترسمان نباشد گزینه ها عالی برای آشنا شدن با کلیات مبحث اند ؛ این هم مثل بقیه ! برای دید کلی دادن خوب بود اما اگر با مبحثی بخصوص اگر نه فقط با آن موضوع ، بلکه با گفتمان کلی مبحث مثل رشته های اصلی آکادمیکش آشنایی دارید هم این مورد خاص هم سایر کتب راهنمای گرافیکی بیش از حد ساده اند شاید صرفا محض تورق و سرگرمی و بلکه هم جرقه ایده ای نو بدک نباشند !
ترجمه : هردو ترجمه قابل قبول به عنوان ترجمه یک کتاب غیر تخصصی ، اما بسیاری از لغات فنی اصلا ترجمه ظریفی نداشتند گاها هم کاملا غلط بودند !
چاپ : جنس کاغد و کیفیت چاپ و صحافی پژواک خوب اما پردیس دانش ضعیف بود اما نکته مهم تر اینکه تصاویر سری قدم اول (که نسخه انگلیسیشان تحت عنوان a graphic guide منتشر می شود) مهم ترین جز آن اند ، مانند کمیک سری ها و مانگا ها ، و نشر پژواک احتمالا تصاویر را از نسخه های الکرونیک کم کیفیت اخذ کرده و تصاویرش بی کیفیت اند !
محتوا : بطور کلی تمامی کتب راهنمای گرافیکی بسیار ساده و خوشخوان و مفرح اند و البته در مواردی که کتاب ترویجی و عمومی بهتر دیگری در موضوع مورد نظر در دسترسمان نباشد گزینه ها عالی برای آشنا شدن با کلیات مبحث اند ؛ این هم مثل بقیه ! برای دید کلی دادن خوب بود اما اگر با مبحثی بخصوص اگر نه فقط با آن موضوع ، بلکه با گفتمان کلی مبحث مثل رشته های اصلی آکادمیکش آشنایی دارید هم این مورد خاص هم سایر کتب راهنمای گرافیکی بیش از حد ساده اند شاید صرفا محض تورق و سرگرمی و بلکه هم جرقه ایده ای نو بدک نباشند !
July 31, 2023
ليس رائعا.
ليس سيئا.
تنويه بسيط: الكاتب يتحدث عن ماندلبروت تحديدا وكإنه ابن خالته ويخصه بآيات المدح والثناء في أجزاء عديدة من الكتاب.
ليس سيئا.
تنويه بسيط: الكاتب يتحدث عن ماندلبروت تحديدا وكإنه ابن خالته ويخصه بآيات المدح والثناء في أجزاء عديدة من الكتاب.
August 15, 2015
We are damn fractals; well, the whole universe is. Nature doesn't know the geometry we learn at school, she has been using fractal geometry. This little book tell us how a bunch of ingenious people managed to figure this out. The whole thing was synthesized by the odd genius in Mandelbrot.
August 29, 2022
Fractal Geometry is a school of mathematics that contends with the kinds of shapes seen in nature, shapes which often appear irregular (at least on some scale,) but which are also frequently self-similar (i.e. the twig looks like the branch looks like the whole tree.) One problem that led to the discipline’s development was determining the distance of a coastline. The distance between measurements vastly alters the final measurement one gets. From the discipline’s origins in observation of the natural world and the problems found in nature, fractal geometry was put to use for problems in ecology, finance, technology, and art and music. The book touches upon this sprawl of the subject, as well as relating fractal geometry to Euclidian Geometry, Calculus, and theories of Chaos and Complexity.
This book offers a simple and cursory overview of the subject. A reader expecting to learn how to employ Fractal Geometry will come away disappointed, but one who just wants to know the kind of problems its useful for and get a basic and intuitive explanation of why it’s useful can gain a great deal from the book. As the subtitle suggests, the book is illustrated and the graphics are far more useful in this volume than in most of the “Graphic Guide” series. That probably comes as no surprise as the subject is inherently more visual than average.
If you’re starting from ground zero, I’d highly recommend this book. Those with a mathematical background may yearn for more depth.
This book offers a simple and cursory overview of the subject. A reader expecting to learn how to employ Fractal Geometry will come away disappointed, but one who just wants to know the kind of problems its useful for and get a basic and intuitive explanation of why it’s useful can gain a great deal from the book. As the subtitle suggests, the book is illustrated and the graphics are far more useful in this volume than in most of the “Graphic Guide” series. That probably comes as no surprise as the subject is inherently more visual than average.
If you’re starting from ground zero, I’d highly recommend this book. Those with a mathematical background may yearn for more depth.
December 15, 2013
It was a fascinating book, that allows me to have a glimpse into the smallest tiniest structures that we are all familiar with in nature.
I once had a physicist professor who used to say that everything could be described in the form of an equation. Looking out my window at that very moment I saw the leaves on trees, and asked what is the formula for the shape of the leaves on the trees?
His response took me off guard, thinking that I was going to get some mumbo jumbo, he simply said I don't know, but I know that there are some. He went on to explain the exploration of Science
in which part is not of discovering new and exciting theories, but looking backwards into what we have had to try to determine the fundamental essence of everyday things that can be described in mathematical and logical sequences. - it took me a while to wrap my head around what he was saying and then a whole new world opened up to me, that yes there had to be an explanation for every curve and change, pitch and shape in all of nature's glory.
Fractal geometry gave me a glimpse into that world of reverse engineering to determine the structure of nature.
Just knowing that every pine cone, maple leaf or Daisy had an explanational relevance to design that could be determined and quantified solidified my belief that all of nature's have the commonality of structure and that there is no happenstance.
if you are interested in understanding such things it is a fabulous book to read, but if you don't give a rat's rear end, stick with Anna Katrina.
I once had a physicist professor who used to say that everything could be described in the form of an equation. Looking out my window at that very moment I saw the leaves on trees, and asked what is the formula for the shape of the leaves on the trees?
His response took me off guard, thinking that I was going to get some mumbo jumbo, he simply said I don't know, but I know that there are some. He went on to explain the exploration of Science
in which part is not of discovering new and exciting theories, but looking backwards into what we have had to try to determine the fundamental essence of everyday things that can be described in mathematical and logical sequences. - it took me a while to wrap my head around what he was saying and then a whole new world opened up to me, that yes there had to be an explanation for every curve and change, pitch and shape in all of nature's glory.
Fractal geometry gave me a glimpse into that world of reverse engineering to determine the structure of nature.
Just knowing that every pine cone, maple leaf or Daisy had an explanational relevance to design that could be determined and quantified solidified my belief that all of nature's have the commonality of structure and that there is no happenstance.
if you are interested in understanding such things it is a fabulous book to read, but if you don't give a rat's rear end, stick with Anna Katrina.
December 17, 2016
A very informative introduction to fractal geometry. Seeing that the subject ranges over many fields it obviously cannot tackle them all in such a short amount of pages. What it does well, is that it gives one a good overview and summary of this topic. There were certain topics within the book that I was hoping would be elaborated on more but were unfortunately cut short. There seems to be an abrupt stopping and going type of flow in the book. The pictures in it were comic book style pictures and helped one to keep reading while appreciating the artistry with a bit of a chuckle. I really enjoyed the amount of work that apparently went into this book. The recreations of important graphs and images was very well done. What kept it from receiving 5 stars was the abrupt nature of the flow of the book. There were certain topics that seemed to be left hanging in the air. Either way, 4 out of 5 stars isn't bad. It was a good starting point for a visual as well as abstract mathematical understanding on the subject of fractal geometry.
February 1, 2015
Za sve koji vole matematiku vrlo pitka knjižica s puno grafičkih prikaza koji na svima shvatljiv način objašnjavaju pojam i ulogu fraktala.
May 25, 2021
Great introduction to Fractals! Highly visual but also highly informative. It contains some mathematics behind it, its application throughout fields such as economics, biology, or physics, and the history of how fractals emerged in science.
August 29, 2024
Fun to read. Like the pictures :)
November 7, 2012
Devo dire che mi sarei aspettato molto di più da questo libro. Ha sicuramente un vantaggio, e cioè che costa poco; però dovrenmo tutti ricordarci bene che non possiamo avere un pasto gratis. Iniziamo dal titolo, che è fuorviante: non ci sono fumetti ma disegni. Capisco che parlare di disegni nel caso di frattali è ancora peggio; e infatti il titolo originale "Introducing Fractal Geometry" è per me molto più chiaro.
Il secondo punto che non mi piace del libro è la sua estrema semplificazione: ogni concetto viene trattato in poche righe e quindi non si capisce molto di che si stia parlando, soprattutto in tutti gli esempi in cui si dice "ah sì, con i frattali si potrebbe fare bla bla bla..." e ovviamente non si spiega nulla. Poi non è che io mi fidi molto di un testo che dice (pag. 68) che il piano complesso è stato inventato da John Wallis un secolo abbondante prima di Caspar Wessel e Jean-Robert Argand... qualcuno avrebbe dovuto spiegare agli autori che Wallis ha introdotto la retta dei numeri.
Anche sulla traduzione di Gianbruno Guerriero ho qualche dubbio. Capisco la difficoltà del non avere un testo ampio, ma scrivere "Bill Hirst, lo scienziato e filosofo britannico" non è esattamente italiano.
Detto tutto questo, bisogna però dare anche conto che molte spiegazioni sono sufficienti per una persona non esperta del campo ma curiosa; per costoro il libro può risultare interessante e piacevole, anche se non cambierà loro la vita.
Il secondo punto che non mi piace del libro è la sua estrema semplificazione: ogni concetto viene trattato in poche righe e quindi non si capisce molto di che si stia parlando, soprattutto in tutti gli esempi in cui si dice "ah sì, con i frattali si potrebbe fare bla bla bla..." e ovviamente non si spiega nulla. Poi non è che io mi fidi molto di un testo che dice (pag. 68) che il piano complesso è stato inventato da John Wallis un secolo abbondante prima di Caspar Wessel e Jean-Robert Argand... qualcuno avrebbe dovuto spiegare agli autori che Wallis ha introdotto la retta dei numeri.
Anche sulla traduzione di Gianbruno Guerriero ho qualche dubbio. Capisco la difficoltà del non avere un testo ampio, ma scrivere "Bill Hirst, lo scienziato e filosofo britannico" non è esattamente italiano.
Detto tutto questo, bisogna però dare anche conto che molte spiegazioni sono sufficienti per una persona non esperta del campo ma curiosa; per costoro il libro può risultare interessante e piacevole, anche se non cambierà loro la vita.
October 28, 2011
An excellent graphic guide. Totally fascinating. Especially the stories about Benoit Mandelbrot. I want to read his biography now. I also want to learn more about Gaston Julia and Pierre Fatou, whose work wallowed in obscurity until Mandelbrot and then computers showed how visionary they were. Finally, the ending with all of the different areas that now make use of fractal geometry was just incredible. A lot of fun to read.
June 27, 2014
Infinitely absorbing and, for a slim introductory volume, comfortingly difficult!
December 12, 2014
This range of "Introducing" books are not meant to be technical and are not technical. But serve as a way to give the given reader an interesting perspective on that particular area.
July 6, 2022
Fractals are recurring irregular patterns. They’re found in nature, art, architecture…it’s geometry that can be expressed mathematically for instance: by dividing a logarithm by another logarithm.
Being a math nerd, I loved reading this book. It was a bit disjointed since it’s history and a smattering of mathematical theory and modeling. Bit of calculus and such.
Reading the quote from Ford summed it up for me:
“Evolution is Chaos with feedback. Goes does play dice with the universe, but the dice are loaded. The goal of mathematics and physics now is to find out by what rules the dice were loaded.” ~ Joseph Ford, Georgia Institute of Technology
The whole time I kept thinking how I have been trained since college that there is not a Creator, there’s just blind natural process. So when I read a quote like that, I bristle and eye roll.
But…if a human mind created fractal patterns in ancient art, like Celtic designs, Greece mosaics, Islamic art, Buddhist mandalas, Baroque cathedrals, and more…
And then mathematicians like Mandelbrot come along and articulate them with mathematical models and start finding them in nature such as ferns, a dragonfly wing, the structure of our brains, the structure of our circulatory system, our lungs, the erosion of mountains and coastlines, clouds…
What is that proving?
I’m starting to understand more and more the wisdom of the book title: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.
There is evidence of intelligence behind all the natural phenomena and academia keeps pounding it in our head to be in awe of nature…as if were a being making this happen or just coincidence as a natural order. Well…where did the order come from? Minds order things.
Anyway…just thought it was interesting that I pick up a math book to help me sleep at night and I discover something else that points me to my newfound conversion to theism, specifically Christianity.
Being a math nerd, I loved reading this book. It was a bit disjointed since it’s history and a smattering of mathematical theory and modeling. Bit of calculus and such.
Reading the quote from Ford summed it up for me:
“Evolution is Chaos with feedback. Goes does play dice with the universe, but the dice are loaded. The goal of mathematics and physics now is to find out by what rules the dice were loaded.” ~ Joseph Ford, Georgia Institute of Technology
The whole time I kept thinking how I have been trained since college that there is not a Creator, there’s just blind natural process. So when I read a quote like that, I bristle and eye roll.
But…if a human mind created fractal patterns in ancient art, like Celtic designs, Greece mosaics, Islamic art, Buddhist mandalas, Baroque cathedrals, and more…
And then mathematicians like Mandelbrot come along and articulate them with mathematical models and start finding them in nature such as ferns, a dragonfly wing, the structure of our brains, the structure of our circulatory system, our lungs, the erosion of mountains and coastlines, clouds…
What is that proving?
I’m starting to understand more and more the wisdom of the book title: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.
There is evidence of intelligence behind all the natural phenomena and academia keeps pounding it in our head to be in awe of nature…as if were a being making this happen or just coincidence as a natural order. Well…where did the order come from? Minds order things.
Anyway…just thought it was interesting that I pick up a math book to help me sleep at night and I discover something else that points me to my newfound conversion to theism, specifically Christianity.
August 4, 2020
Introducing Fractals, A Graphic Guide
is a very short book about fractal geometry. It was written by Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Will Rood and Ralph Edney, and published in 2009.
It is very small in size, runs just 176 pages including the index, and has a lot of pictures. It took me just over a day to read it. As someone just starting to learn about fractals, I found it to be very interesting because it gives a minimal yet still comprehensive historical overview of how geometry has evolved over the past two thousand years or so.
I am giving Introducing Fractals 4 of 5 stars because it is an excellent introduction to the topic. However, towards the end it turns very "salesman-y," making a lot of claims about how wonderful fractals are without providing anything to back up these claims. This of course is fine for an introduction to a topic, but for me to give it 5 stars it would need to make fewer claims and dive at least a little deeper to give some data or studies that justify the claims that remain.
Fractal geometry is a very complicated topic, yet Introducing Fractals, A Graphic Guide, does an excellent job of simplifying it for the average reader. The book has virtually no math in it, preferring to use images — mostly drawings — to present the topic.
Even though the book is small in size, every page — except a few at the very end, such as the index — has at least one picture. And many of the pages have more than just one image.
I recommend Introducing Fractals, A Graphic Guide, to anyone looking for a quick overview of fractal geometry. Note however that although it is an excellent introduction, people wanting to take a deeper dive into the topic will want to find different — or additional — books.
It is very small in size, runs just 176 pages including the index, and has a lot of pictures. It took me just over a day to read it. As someone just starting to learn about fractals, I found it to be very interesting because it gives a minimal yet still comprehensive historical overview of how geometry has evolved over the past two thousand years or so.
I am giving Introducing Fractals 4 of 5 stars because it is an excellent introduction to the topic. However, towards the end it turns very "salesman-y," making a lot of claims about how wonderful fractals are without providing anything to back up these claims. This of course is fine for an introduction to a topic, but for me to give it 5 stars it would need to make fewer claims and dive at least a little deeper to give some data or studies that justify the claims that remain.
Fractal geometry is a very complicated topic, yet Introducing Fractals, A Graphic Guide, does an excellent job of simplifying it for the average reader. The book has virtually no math in it, preferring to use images — mostly drawings — to present the topic.
Even though the book is small in size, every page — except a few at the very end, such as the index — has at least one picture. And many of the pages have more than just one image.
I recommend Introducing Fractals, A Graphic Guide, to anyone looking for a quick overview of fractal geometry. Note however that although it is an excellent introduction, people wanting to take a deeper dive into the topic will want to find different — or additional — books.
February 10, 2017
This is a great little book that tells you how the study of fractals began, its history, effect on culture, relation to nature, and how they're generated. It's presented in sort of a comic book format, with pictures, accompanied by tidbits in the margins about some of the people involved in that page's discussion. It does not get deep into the mathematics of fractals, but presents the history of its development in a very engaging way.
I've read bits and pieces about fractals for approximately 30 years, but I've never seen a comprehensive presentation like this book shows. You were probably exposed to fractals yourself and didn't know it, in the scene from Jurassic Park, where a scientist presents the case where a drop of water hitting the back of your hand will take many different paths, depending on many different variables, some of which are incredibly small. But nevertheless, they affect the outcome.
This is defined as chaos--not being able to predict an outcome. But graphs of most chaotic systems are fractal. I know, it makes my head hurt sometimes, too.
I've read bits and pieces about fractals for approximately 30 years, but I've never seen a comprehensive presentation like this book shows. You were probably exposed to fractals yourself and didn't know it, in the scene from Jurassic Park, where a scientist presents the case where a drop of water hitting the back of your hand will take many different paths, depending on many different variables, some of which are incredibly small. But nevertheless, they affect the outcome.
This is defined as chaos--not being able to predict an outcome. But graphs of most chaotic systems are fractal. I know, it makes my head hurt sometimes, too.
July 24, 2017
Since I love this topic, i expected to love this book. The visual explanations and the historical organization worked; it IS a fine introduction. A bit too focused on homage to Mandelbrot, but okay, he IS amazing.
Two problems for me:
1) 2000 is when the material for this book was gathered, and in fractal math, that's too long ago. An update revision is so required here in 2016. Yet the publication date is listed as 2005 and the printing date is 2009 and the copyright date is 2013. This publisher is deceptively hiding the archival status of this draft.
2) This intro doesn't make it at all easy to go deeper, unlike Ian Stewart's fantastic writing or most topical online course materials.
It left me feeling empty, that I gained so little... and what was new to me here were at "interesting historical facts" without math content or practical use.
Two problems for me:
1) 2000 is when the material for this book was gathered, and in fractal math, that's too long ago. An update revision is so required here in 2016. Yet the publication date is listed as 2005 and the printing date is 2009 and the copyright date is 2013. This publisher is deceptively hiding the archival status of this draft.
2) This intro doesn't make it at all easy to go deeper, unlike Ian Stewart's fantastic writing or most topical online course materials.
It left me feeling empty, that I gained so little... and what was new to me here were at "interesting historical facts" without math content or practical use.
August 21, 2019
Confused on where it wants to be
This could have been a full fledged history.
Or it could have been a detailed non technical book on fractals.
It could have been a moderately technical introduction to fractals.
It is none of those. It keeps jumping from one theme to another, from one topic to next. It's like reading 500 different books on topics related to fractals. The history stops as abruptly as the technical stuff starts which equally abruptly move on to another related topic but with no continuity.
The only reason for 2 stars is for the amount of info crammed and references provided, which are good starting points for those interested.
This could have been a full fledged history.
Or it could have been a detailed non technical book on fractals.
It could have been a moderately technical introduction to fractals.
It is none of those. It keeps jumping from one theme to another, from one topic to next. It's like reading 500 different books on topics related to fractals. The history stops as abruptly as the technical stuff starts which equally abruptly move on to another related topic but with no continuity.
The only reason for 2 stars is for the amount of info crammed and references provided, which are good starting points for those interested.
December 7, 2019
The book is an introduction to fractals. The mention to graphic guide, suggests that is somehow a comic book. It is not. It is a real book, with some pictures.
But the book is of the kind that leaves you asking for more, because it mainly develops fascination, but not a huge theory. Is that fractals are only beautiful things but no real maths? The mention of patterns of errors in computing or encoding, suggest that it is knowledge.
All in all, an interesting book (free for those with Amazon Prime) and I will be exploring the whole collection to get an overview on other topics (there are some from Relativity to Marxism)
But the book is of the kind that leaves you asking for more, because it mainly develops fascination, but not a huge theory. Is that fractals are only beautiful things but no real maths? The mention of patterns of errors in computing or encoding, suggest that it is knowledge.
All in all, an interesting book (free for those with Amazon Prime) and I will be exploring the whole collection to get an overview on other topics (there are some from Relativity to Marxism)
August 28, 2020
This short book gives a thorough introduction to basic fractals in the format of a graphic novel. I never realised the huge range of applications fractals have, from image compression and simulation of almost all natural phenomena to cancer detection.
I may be biased, but I do think slightly more maths may have actually made the content more clear, as in some places the descriptions were slightly too vague to make full sense to me. However, as an accessible intro, it definitely seems better to be on the safe side and stick to broad descriptions.
I now have a much greater appreciation for the importance and beauty, of fractals, and I suspect I'll start seeing them everywhere from now on.
I may be biased, but I do think slightly more maths may have actually made the content more clear, as in some places the descriptions were slightly too vague to make full sense to me. However, as an accessible intro, it definitely seems better to be on the safe side and stick to broad descriptions.
I now have a much greater appreciation for the importance and beauty, of fractals, and I suspect I'll start seeing them everywhere from now on.
April 8, 2020
i'm unsure who the audience is supposed to be, but i'm not part of it. the book is brief, the text is introductory, and the writing isn't flawed, so i'm comfortable thinking that many will enjoy it.
no less for that, i didn't like the book's style.
given that i'm a layman, i know a lot about fractals, but i learned more than enough about the history leading up the Mandelbrot days and post-Mandelbrot. i wanted to know more about how fractals apply in our world, how they're more informative than is what we normally think of as math, etc.
no less for that, i didn't like the book's style.
given that i'm a layman, i know a lot about fractals, but i learned more than enough about the history leading up the Mandelbrot days and post-Mandelbrot. i wanted to know more about how fractals apply in our world, how they're more informative than is what we normally think of as math, etc.
June 24, 2018
Overall I thought this was a great overview of fractals. However, in the beginning I found myself wanting to know more and by the middle of the book, it started too seem like a laundry list of applications. I was excited in the beginning, but became bored in the end. Perhaps my ideas of this book will change when I take a mini course on fractals in a few weeks. If so, I will update my review here.
May 19, 2019
Awesome concepts
If I was given this book before 8 years.... I could have pursued mathematics as my future path..... All the reality is trying to be fitted with fractal geometry.... I never thought there is a regularity in the irregular shapes of nature.... This math is more like realistic science explained in ancient philosophical guides.... Worthy book... I am going to read further books on this subject
If I was given this book before 8 years.... I could have pursued mathematics as my future path..... All the reality is trying to be fitted with fractal geometry.... I never thought there is a regularity in the irregular shapes of nature.... This math is more like realistic science explained in ancient philosophical guides.... Worthy book... I am going to read further books on this subject
August 6, 2020
Highly interesting topic, touches on many different areas - a good introduction, but there are some sections where I would have appreciated more elaboration and depth. Some parts felt either like I needed slightly more background knowledge or further explanation, but the range of topics covered considering the size and format redeemed it :)
November 30, 2021
Pieces of Mystery
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon in his book, Introducing Fractals, presents a thought provoking missive on the origins of fractal geometry. It doesn’t overwhelm with dense text. It is well written and cites critics of the assertions about fractal geometry. If a reader is interested in a concise origins and applications of fractals, I recommend this book.
Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon in his book, Introducing Fractals, presents a thought provoking missive on the origins of fractal geometry. It doesn’t overwhelm with dense text. It is well written and cites critics of the assertions about fractal geometry. If a reader is interested in a concise origins and applications of fractals, I recommend this book.
May 30, 2020
I LOVED reading this. I have always had an interest in fractals but very little knowledge. This book helped so much, it’s easy to read and understand but delves in deep.
Highly recommend to anyone interested.
Highly recommend to anyone interested.
January 15, 2021
This was an incredibly accessible mind-bender through the world's of nature and mathematics. This visual nature of the subject matter was greatly enhanced by the Graphic Guide part of this book. I'm looking forward to more of this series AND additional books on fractals in general.
April 4, 2021
probably the best book of this type I've read this year. Really amazing with a fascinating look into what lies right in front of us in nature. Who knew? Even ties into the origin of the universe. Remarkable.
January 14, 2024
The Biography of Fractals
I really enjoyed learning the history and the science of fractal geometry. How does fractal geometry inform us about how life scales up from subatomic part Les to galaxies.?
I really enjoyed learning the history and the science of fractal geometry. How does fractal geometry inform us about how life scales up from subatomic part Les to galaxies.?
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