Product Description
This digital document is an article from Phi Delta Kappan, published by Phi Delta Kappa, Inc. on November 1, 2003. The length of the article is 2035 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: James Otto and the Pi Man: A Constructivist Tale.
Author: Carole Funk
Publication: Phi Delta Kappan (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2003
Publisher: Phi Delta Kappa, Inc.
Volume: 85Issue: 3Page: 212

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 376 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
How past attempts by scientists to discover the perfect circle led to major discoveries of the physical universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Zebrowski's History of the Circle is a great fun book.
This is not a text book, but an fun read that discusses
interesting topics from physics and math.
It explains things so well that I wish I had Zebrowski as a professor or could find textbooks written by him.
I think the lengthy first review below as well as examples from the other reviews give a good idea of the contents of this book.
It's a joy to read, and to use when explaining things correctly to others.

interesting but ...
An interesting read which could have benefited from the
attention of a diligent editor.Sadly, historical details
are often muddled and in the later chapters the author
indulges in some freewheeling speculation regarding high
energy physics while quoting undergraduate level journals
as sources.
Nevertheless, all of the subject matter and most of the
text is well worth a look.

Looking For Pi Info? Its Not Here.
The first chapter BREIFLY addresses pi, so this not a good source for those of you that may have drawn the same conclusions about the title that I did.However, if you've ever wondered why there are 360 degrees in a circle and how that relates to time or other interesting trivia, this is a great source.I do recomend it to anyone with an intrest in the basic concepts of Physics which somehow work themseves in everywhere.The title would be more acurate if it removed "A History of the Circle" and just left it with "Mathmatical Reasoning and the Physical Universe" because it lacks far to much of the first subject.

Just what I was looking for (and I didn't even know it!)
What a delightful discovery! This book served to effortlessly broaden my knowledge about applied mathematics. I have to recommend this book to all - and especially towards those, like myself, who are frustrated with our own mathematical ignorance... I am a bit of a compulsive book buyer and I don't always make an effort to read each book in my huge collection. I'm very happy I made the time to thoroughly read this one!

A DECIDEDLY PLEASANT JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE
The beauty of Ernest Zebrowski's book, A HISTORY OF THE CIRCLE, is that it was written for everyone, not just for science professors.The author never talks down to his readers.Clearly, Mr. Zebrowski is not just asuperb scientist and mathematician:he is also a skilled writer, teacher,philospher, and historian.Like Lewis Thomas, he has a wonderful way ofmaking science come alive.He transports you back into time and makes youfeel as if you are right there watching some of the most intriging momentsin human history unfold before your eyes.I learned so much from readingthis book.You can pick up any chapter at random and find yourselfcaptivated by a fascinating anecdote, a compelling biographical sketch, athought-provoking question, or a delightful little tidbit of information. The author made me think about things I have never thought about before. Reading this book has given me a newfound appreciation for the importanceof the circle as well as a newfound respect for the truly remarkable featsof our early scientists, mathematicians, and architects.So whether you'relearning about the life of Albert Einstein or the death of Archimedes;whether you're trying to figure out why old fenceposts were deliberatelyspaced 9.417 feet apart or how how the ancient Egyptians could havepossibly managed to erect thousands of 20-ton blocks 48 stories high; orwhether you are discovering that an experienced hunter is often smarterthan a computer or that terrified peasants rioted when the Gregoriancalendar was adopted because they believed that the pope was actuallystealing 10 days of their lives...you will enjoy reading, or even justskimming, A HISTORY OF THE CIRCLE.This book will change the way you lookat nature: you will see things you never saw before.It might even changethe way you look at yourself.I was delighted to discover, for example,that I was made of stardust, but I must say it was a bit unsettling tolearn that I am now a tad older than the sun which, according to Mr.Zebrowski, is "barely middle-aged." ... Read more

Product Description
The first book to discuss fractals solely from the point of view of computer graphics, this work includes an introduction to the basic axioms of fractals and their applications in the natural sciences, a survey of random fractals together with many pseudocodes for selected algorithms, an introduction into fantastic fractals such as the Mandelbrot set and the Julia sets, together with a detailed discussion of algorithms and fractal modeling of real world objects. 142 illustrations in 277 parts. 39 color plates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fractals -- Applied Mathmatics and Computer Programming
From page 25" Fractals (a word coined by Mandelbrot in 1975) have blossomed tremendously in the past few years (written in 1988) and have helped reconnect pure mathematics research with both the natural sciences and computing."

This book has both Mathmatical equations and Computer Programs along with explanations and results (many graphs, plots, and color plate images).

If you have an interest in Fractals, Recursion, Computer programming, Image creation, this is a great book and filled with examples.

Great book on fractals and imaging
This old book is a timeless gem. It goes into the details of the mathematics of fractals and also shows well-commented C code for producing fractal imagery along with good color illustrations.
Chapter 1, "Fractals in Nature", uses computer generated images to build a visual intuition for fractal as opposed to Euclidian shapes. There is also a mathematical characterization with Brownian motion as the prototype.
In chapter 2, "Random Fractal Algorithms", randomness is introduced into the algorithms discussed in chapter one as a way of simulating natural phenomena. Ideas are extended to higher dimensions. C programs that produce mountain ranges using these ideas are presented, along with the resulting imagery.
Chapter 3, "Fractal Patterns Arising in Chaotic Dynamical Systems", turns to the topic of dynamical systems and is less mathematical than the first two chapters. There is some mathematics and some illustrations in 2D and black and white that should be familiar to any student of dynamical systems.
Chapter 4, "Fantastic Deterministic Fractals", demonstrates how genuine mathematical research experiments open a door to a new reservoir of fantastic shapes and images. Programs are shown that extend the ideas of chapter 3 into truly beautiful fractals. Ideas here stay mainly in 2D.
The final chapter, "Fractal Modelling of Real World Images", draws from the material of the previous chapters to present C programs that produce clouds, vegetation, smoke, and mountain ranges, all by altering a few of the parameters in the sample code presented by the authors.
This book is much better than more recent titles that bury their algorithms in complex high level languages or "toy books" on the subject that provide dumbed-down applications and in which the simplest possible explanation of fractals is given with no insight. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding fractal mathematics and in using that mathematics to produce stunning visual effects.

One of the best (if no the best) in the feild
You cant go past this book,

This book reads at any level, Great introduction to the field as well as an indespencible reference. Shows easy to implement code examples, and has lots of pictures showing what can beacheived.

This has been a main reference for a theisis I am currentlyworking on. The question is, why is it out of print. If you can find itit's worth it's wheight in gold.

A must
In my opinion, the best work ever written in the category not-for-beginner-but-available-to-non-specialist (such as Beauty of Fractals, by the same authors). An easy answer to question "How can Igenerate a fractal image with my PC?", from brownian motion to Juliasets. A must for reader interested in fractals (a bit out-of-fashion butstill very interesting field). ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection. ... Read more