Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts:  

Today's colorful image is named "Surprisingly Simple".  The name refers to the surprisingly simple formula behind the image, Z^2+C, which creates our old friend the Mandelbrot set, perhaps the greatest fractal of all, yet the one that never fails to reveal a surprise every time I venture there.  Today's scene is located in the largest valley inside the large period-5 bud on the northwest shore line of the main bay.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the image is the way the resolution has held up while using conventional math even at the extreme magnitude of over 10^13.  Of course, rendering the image using arbitrary precision math will produce marginally better resolution, but the calculation time will be in the hours instead of 3-1/4 minutes.

Thanks to the 'tdis' outside option plus a little extra coloring effort from me, the art aspect rates a 7.  The math rating of a 6 is based on the unexpected resolution at such a high magnitude.  The generating expression itself is the most overworked in all of fractal land.

To see the image, run the included parameter file and wait a few minutes, or shift to arbitrary precision math and wait a few hours . . . or avoid the problem altogether by viewing the image on the web sites.

Near perfect weather prevailed here at Fractal Central today, with blue skies, cotton puff clouds, gentle winds and a temperature of 72F 22C.  The fractal cats tried with little success to enjoy the narrow stripe of sun that fell on the edge of their shelf.  The afternoon sun is now at too high an angle to cover the entire shelf.

The fractal humans made it through another uneventful day.  I pondered the mysteries of existence (that is if existence even exists), while FL worked in the fractal garden.  To make her job easier, I offered occasional morale support from the porch while she worked.  The next FOTD will be posted soon.  Until a more certain time is revealed, take care, and the greatest question facing mankind nowadays may be 'is there life after birth?'.

Jim (think positive) Muth
jimmuth@earthlink.net


START PARAMETER FILE=======================================

SurprisinglySimple { ; time=0:03:15.00 SF5 at 2000MHZ
  reset=2004 type=mandel center-mag=-0.5252504033232\
  935/+0.5960229672161933/1e+013/1/102.5/0 passes=1
  params=0/0 float=y maxiter=4500 bailout=10 inside=0
  outside=tdis periodicity=6 mathtolerance=0.05/1
  colors=000OawSZvVVvZSuaOtdLtbJp`Hm_FjYDgWBdV9`T7YR\
  5VQ3SO1PN0Mm5fqMVtbJodKkeKgfLchL_iMWjMSlNOmNKnNKpP\
  KrRKsSQhNwUItRDqN8nK4jF5gA5b55Z05W05U05R05Q05M05L0\
  5H05H05F05H05805606517558E89MBAPFBTHCWKDZMEaOEigUt\
  HeAgz9ez8dz7bz7`z6Zz5Yz4Wz4Uz3Tz2Rz1Pz1Oz5Nz9MzDLz\
  HLzIXzIhzIszJpzKnzKlzLjzMgzMezNczOazO_zPXzQVzQTzRR\
  zSUzI0IK0IM0JO0KQ1LS2MU3NW4OY5PY3QZ6R_9S`BTaERbGQc\
  JOdMNeOLfRKgTIhWHiZFj`DkcCleAmh9nk7om6pp4qr3ru1sw0\
  tv1uv2vv3wu4xu5yu6zt7zt8zt9zsAzsBzsCzrDzrEzrFzqGzq\
  HzqIzpzzpzmpzmpzmnzmmzclzckzcjzcizchzCfSDeTDdUEcUE\
  bVFaWF`WGZXHYYHXZIWZIV_JU`JT`KPYMLUOHRPDOR9LT5IU2F\
  X4E_6Db8CdACgCBjEAlGAoI9rK8tL8uE6v74w13r39n5Ej7Jf9\
  PbBUZDZVFdRHiNJnQLkSMhVOfXPc_RaaSZdUXfVUiXRkYPn_Mp\
  `KsbHucFr`GpYHnWIlTJjQKgOLeLMcINaGO_DPYBQZNX_Yc`hj\
  asqXYVW_TV`RUbPTcNSeLSfJRhHQiFPkDOlBOmAThDYcFbZI0z\
  00z00z00z00z00z00z00z00z0 }

END PARAMETER FILE=========================================