- March 17, 2013
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Term paper writing
“Hunting the Hidden Dimension” is a film produced and directed by Emmy and Peabody Award winning filmmakers Michael Schwarz and Bill Jersey. The usual perception of the world seemed not to be changed. However, things change. Film presents people fractals, which appear through the nature. They surround people, like the air, becoming an important part of people’s lives. Benoit Mandelbrot, who was little-known mathematician, was noticed by Carpenter in late 1970s, when he coined “fractal” (from Latin “fractus”). “Fractal” means broken up or, more exactly, irregular.
However, the core focus of this essay is on lightening some new insights and knowledge included in the “Hunting the Hidden Dimension”, its summary, its practical application and view on mathematics after watching this film. Mandelbrot has found through out his significant book that clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line. With two hands, you can count all the simple shapes of nature. Everything else is rough (1982, “The Fractal Geometry of Nature”). Moreover, this film shows that the repeating and irregular shapes of fractals are included in tree limbs, broccoli stalks, cloud formation and human’s heart rhythm, and even in craggy ranges of mountains.
This theme is interesting and remarkable, because it opens new developed form and perception of the world and nature ”“ all around people. For a long time, irregular, fractal-like shapes were studied among the boundaries of understanding mathematics. The film helped to learn a lot of new information and gain useful knowledge. Eventually, this uncharted mathematics territory was mapped by scientists. Further still, mathematicians’ significant findings are seemed to deepen people’s understanding of the surrounding nature and stimulate a totally unknown direction of medical, scientific and even artistic innovation.
Undeniable, mathematics is a part of human’s life: outside of school, job or in the real world, daily life. Fractal geometry is definitely worlds apart among the Euclidean huge variety everyone studies on school classes, and it has discovered many things in myriad different fields, from medicine to cosmology, from metallurgy to economy. Mathematic meets human at forests, the job, school, home, fashion celebrities, shops, and other surroundings. Thus, it is impossible to imagine human’s life without knowing, understanding, or at least facing with mathematic aspects.
Furthermore, I view mathematics differently now that I have seen videos, which are described through this paper. The difference between my previous understanding and perception of mathematics and present is amazing. Due to discoveries in this area, where made some helpful developments in physics and cardiology. Burns (Toronto) made a mathematical blood vessels model in order to find out how to diagnose cancer as early as it can be possible. Goldberger (Boston) has found that heartbeat of healthy human, contrary to previous belief, has a jagged (fractal pattern), but does not allotted with a pattern (a metronome). This discovery might help to diagnose cardiac disease even before any damage is done.
Works Cited
Mandelbrot B. (1982) The Fractal Geometry of Nature. W H Freeman & Co.