THE BEAUTY OF FRACTALS: Images Of Complex Dynamical Systems. With 184 Figures, Many In Color

shiny silver & full color illustrated hardcover 4to ~ 4º (quarto ~ 8.5"x11"). large "coffee table" book, international or priority shipping will cost extra. no dustwrapper (as issued). fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. couple of tiny dings bottom edge of front cover. edges clean. contents free of markings. nice clean copy. no library markings, store stamps, stickers, bookplates, no names, inking, underlining, remainder markings etc~. first edition. first printing (nap). decorative 1/2 title pg. b&w frontis. illustration. xii+199p+ads. 101 glossy full color plates. b&w figures & illustrations throughout. documentation. index. mathematics. art history. art books. physics. history of science. ~ This book is an unusual attempt to publicize the field of Complex Dynamics, an exciting mathematical discipline of respectable tradition that recently sprang to new life under the impact of modern computer graphics. Where previous generations of scientists had to develop their own inner eye to perceive the abstract aesthetics of their work in lonely enjoyment of what seemed forever inaccessible to the uninitiated, the astounding pictures assembled here invite a general public to share in a new mathematical experience, to revel in the charm of fractal frontiers. In 88 full color pictures, and many more black and white illustrations, the authors present variations of a theme whose repercussions reach far beyond the realms of mathematics. They show how structures of unseen complexity unfold by repeated action of simple rules, how territorial boundaries of bewildering entanglement may be generated in straightforward competition processes. The implied unpredictability of many details of these processes, in spite of their complete determination by the given rules, reflects a major challenge to the prevailing scientific conception.…