Math Art: Fractals

Not really sure what fractals are - other than art created from math using computers. Click on image to see full size.

Created by Wolfgang Beyer with the program Ultra Fractal 3.
Licensed by Creative Commons -

There are also some great images on flickr from the New York Public Library, and LIFE magazine has posted amazing photos on Google.

ICC Book Club: Diaz' Oscar Wao

Today's book club discussion will be treating this book (see wikipedia for summary). It's won the 2008 Pulitzer prize for fiction and the National Book Critics Circle award.

It tells a story - several woven together - of a family, their country of origin (the Dominican Republic) and their new home, New Jersey. The background on the history and politics of the Dominican Dictator Trujillo and his gangster minions alone makes this book worth the read, but the language used - makes this work remarkable.

A lot has been made of the gutter Spanglish - but having studied the work of the Hispanic cultural critic Carlos Mencia, that didn't throw me off - tho my knowledge of gendered nature of swear words has been expanded. The gratuitous use of the "N" word gave one pause, but ultimately the overall effect has been an authentic (albeit coarse) common dialect.

The controlled use of ambiguity makes this a favorite over the last few books we've read. Less a contrived work of art and more a testimony of the Dominican diaspora experience - it succeeds in a compelling, powerful way.

Writing conventions in electronic media

How should conventions of spelling, mechanics and punctuation be treated in email, discussion boards, blogs, etc.? NPR today has text and an audio podcast exploring linguistic innovations from technology, and Dilbert has dealt with the issue for a good minute. The comic is from 6-6-2004 archived at www.dilbert.com Click on image to see the complete (and larger) strip.

Links for teachers

Biology: what glowing hamsters can teach us about genetics (video of animals bio-engineered); reprints of antique medical illustrations - cross reference with cool art; European Molecular biology lab creates 3-D digital embryos - kinda like Google Earth on a REALLY small scale.

Psychology: - study shows cognitive therapy is as good as antidepressants; study looks at why failure inspires some and demoralizes others; book review - The Time Paradox, re: how individuals think of time shapes personality; Brain science - the source of genius;

• Science: Richard Feynman on the essence of Science;
• Language: Merriam-webster announces top 5 words of the year.
• Art and Music: the youtube symphony orchestra puts classical music online; Free downloads of Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash duets; the white album turns 40; 10 fun facts about Picasso (source for images); reprints of antique medical illustrations - cross reference with biology.
• History: world history in images from 1949 to 1989 in under 5 minutes - to the tune of Billy Joel's We didn't start the fire (video).
• Green issues - the environment: green cars at LA auto show.

image from http://neatorama.cachefly.net/images/2008-01/homer-simpson-brain-mri.jpg