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nice write up and lots of nice details, but is this not just fractals ? Nature itself is very much represented through fractals, at least in some part of my am

nice write up and lots of nice details, but is this not just fractals ? Nature itself is very much represented through fractals, at least in some part of my amateur understanding, which would suggest a lot of really interesting research in to this area.

AllegedAlec 7y ago
> nice write up and lots of nice details, but is this not just fractals ? Nope. Cellular automata are another beast. > Nature itself is very much represented through fractals, Not really. There are some fractal-ish processes, but they're not as common as some media assert they are.
- dkersten 7y ago
  I like the smbc-comics “translation” (or explanation): https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3777 https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3777
  - bilekas 7y ago
    Ahaha well I feel pretty silly now!
    - dkersten 7y ago
      Hah! Don’t, it’s a very common trope and you can’t know what you didn’t learn, right? I believed the media claims too for a long time
  - jameshart 7y ago
    This is a more detailed explanation of what fractals actually are, and what mathematics actually mean by 'fractals are everywhere in nature': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9n2gHsHN4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9n2gHsHN4 It might help connect some dots. Short version: simple rules -> can create self-similar shapes -> which can have fractal dimension -> cellular automata can create fractals but nature -> creates shapes which have fractal dimensions does not mean that the processes that create fractal shapes in nature are based on simple rules or cellular automata (but that's not to say they aren't!)
ska 7y ago
>Nature itself is very much represented through fractals Not really. It's worth remembering that fractals are essentially a geometric concept, but are often conflated with the processes that produce them. For example, look at wiki "constructions" discussion of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpi%C5%84ski_triangle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpi%C5%84ski_triangle Here you can have the same set (i.e. "object") generated by geometric operations, by cellular automata, by the "chaos game". It's the same set. There are a number of naturally occurring features or object that show similar geometric properties to fractals which is why they are often talked about this way; but that doesn't mean that the mechanisms are the same. It also often used in very handwavy ways, when something shows similarity at different scales.

AllegedAlec 7y ago

> nice write up and lots of nice details, but is this not just fractals ? Nope. Cellular automata are another beast. > Nature itself is very much represented through fractals, Not really. There are some fractal-ish processes, but they're not as common as some media assert they are.

dkersten 7y ago
I like the smbc-comics “translation” (or explanation): https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3777 https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=3777
- bilekas 7y ago
  Ahaha well I feel pretty silly now!
  - dkersten 7y ago
    Hah! Don’t, it’s a very common trope and you can’t know what you didn’t learn, right? I believed the media claims too for a long time
- jameshart 7y ago
  This is a more detailed explanation of what fractals actually are, and what mathematics actually mean by 'fractals are everywhere in nature': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9n2gHsHN4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB9n2gHsHN4 It might help connect some dots. Short version: simple rules -> can create self-similar shapes -> which can have fractal dimension -> cellular automata can create fractals but nature -> creates shapes which have fractal dimensions does not mean that the processes that create fractal shapes in nature are based on simple rules or cellular automata (but that's not to say they aren't!)

ska 7y ago

>Nature itself is very much represented through fractals Not really. It's worth remembering that fractals are essentially a geometric concept, but are often conflated with the processes that produce them. For example, look at wiki "constructions" discussion of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpi%C5%84ski_triangle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierpi%C5%84ski_triangle Here you can have the same set (i.e. "object") generated by geometric operations, by cellular automata, by the "chaos game". It's the same set. There are a number of naturally occurring features or object that show similar geometric properties to fractals which is why they are often talked about this way; but that doesn't mean that the mechanisms are the same. It also often used in very handwavy ways, when something shows similarity at different scales.