magid: (Default)
magid ([personal profile] magid) wrote2004-02-03 07:45 am

...and today's holiday

Is apparently Julia Day, at least according to the Google logo.
Julia Gaston, that is, fractal finder (maker? that old discover/create debate), whose birthday it is.

[identity profile] missdimple.livejournal.com 2004-02-03 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
OK, so what is exactly a fractal other than cool swirly things? I tried using google to figure it out and couldn't.
cnoocy: green a-e ligature (Default)

Re:

[personal profile] cnoocy 2004-02-03 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
A fractal is a mathematical figure of fractional dimension. That is, a square is a 2-dimensional figure, a cube is a 3-dimensional figure, and the Sierpinski triangle is a 1.58-dimensional (log 3/log 2) figure. There's more information at this page. The other major property of a fractal is its self-similarity, which means that "if you zoom in on a fractal object it will look similar or exactly like the original shape." This is what gives fractals their complex look.

[identity profile] chanaleh.livejournal.com 2004-02-03 08:19 am (UTC)(link)
Surely his name is Gaston Julia (http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Julia.html), not Julia Gaston?

Re:

[identity profile] magid.livejournal.com 2004-02-03 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
You're right, of course; it was obviously too early this morning for me to be posting.
*blush*