Fractals: Images of Chaos

By Hans Lauwerier

Book Overview

Fractals are shapes in which an identical motif repeats itself on an ever diminishing scale. A coastline, for instance, is a fractal, with each bay or headland having its own smaller bays and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140144110
• ISBN13: 9780140144116
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Penguin Group Canada
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.4" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

Short, packed with information, math backround needed

If you want to read this book, there are a couple of recommendations from me: First, review your math: number systems, mods, logarithms, trigonometry, functions. Second, prepare yourself for a book that is packed with information in each line. Don't expect even a line skip unnecessary. Third, if you want to make a full use of book, don't read it and put it aside. You have to bear with the author and work out the examples. These two facts, combined with your willing to analyze the code algorithms will make you learn the fractals -relatively- deeply. The bonus fact is that the authour explains how to create your own fractals in the last chapter. As "the cons" I can say that the turbo basic programs are outdated. They need a good revision, possibly a port to C, Java (or maybe Ruby for the fans). In my opinion, a clean C code would do the trick. Finally here is the chapter list: i. Preface ii. Acknowledgements iii. Introduction 1. Counting and Number Systems 2. Numbers and Points 3. Meanders and Fractals 4. Spirals, Trees and Stars 5. The Analysis of a Fractal 6. Chance in Fractals 7. Poincare, Julia, Mandelbrot 8. Making Your Own Fractals Appendix A. Complex Numbers Appendix B. Programs Bibliography Index

A Classic of Fractals

In all my library of fractal books this one stands out as the most enlightening and the most useful. Hans Lauwerier is a master of Chaos and fractal theory. His method of analysis of IFS fractals is the best. He is just publishing a new book that should be rewarding as well.

A Excellent Introduction to Fractals

This book is nicely written, well-organized and beautifully illustrated. It introduces most of the standard topics with a minimum of math, for example, iterated function systems, chaos, Mandelbrot and Julia sets, and random fractals. Among introductory semi-formal treatments of fractals I have seen, it strikes the best balance between concision, simplicity, and mathematical detail. However, this somewhat dated volume needs a revision to upgrade the code from Basic to, say, Java. When the book was first published, microcomputers were relatively weak. Consequently, the book makes a few digressions into some rather involved algorithms designed to minimize memory use. Of course, today's machines are much more powerful. It is a lot simpler to use recursion (although this uses up memory liberally) in the fractal programs. Finally, I think that the geometry could be made conceptually cleaner by mentioning that a general similitude (of which a contraction mapping is one example) on the plane can be written as a composition of rotations, translations, reflections, and scalings. For more substantial treatments of fractals that don't demand too much math background, see "Fractals Everywhere" by M. Barnsley and "Introduction to Fractals and Chaos" by R. Crownover. However, one should read Lauwerier's slim and elegant volume before and after studying these more advanced works--before, as an introduction, and after, as a delightful summary and "bird's eye view" of the subject.

Excellent book for anyone wanting to explore fractals.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to explore fractals. It covers many different kinds of fractals and chaotic systems. It includes sample BASIC programs of many of the fractal equations. Although the BASIC programs are useful they are somewhat antiquated. I highly recommend this book.

A Master Work by a Fractal Poet!

Timeless code and timeless explainations of the fractal processes of nature. One of the masters of the modern fractal world: I wish I had had this book when I started out! Your unique Associates ID is: thefractaltransl