Benoit Mandelbrot, Father of the Fractal

Last month, the world lost one of the most brilliant mathematical minds of the past few decades: Benoit Mandelbrot. This mathematician was born November 20, 1924, in Poland, grew up in France, and spent most of his adult life working in the United States. Mandelbrot made contributions to numerous fields, including economics, information theory, and fluid dynamics, but he is perhaps best known for his work in theoretical mathematics, specifically, fractal geometry. A fractal is a shape that possesses the property of self-similarity——zooming in reveals that the border forms patterns similar to the whole, making the shape never-endingly complex. Computer programs can be used to generate fractals that have color-coded areas, giving rise to beautiful, trippy images.









However, a fractal is more than just a pretty picture. The equations that give rise to these fractals can actually be used to describe various phenomena in nature.















In fact, Mandelbrot was first inspired to explore the concept of fractals when pondering how best to measure the coast of Britain. This seemingly easy endeavor is actually quite difficult. The more precise the measurements are, the longer the coast becomes. Mandelbrot realized that these complex borders can be described according to simple formulas. For instance, the mathematician’s eponymous fractal, the Mandelbrot set, is defined by a very simple equation: z → z^2 + c. But zooming into the border of the fractal reveals consistent, infinite complexity.





Fractal geometry can be applied to a variety of fields. Fractals have been used for image analysis software, musical compositions, image compression, and even computer games. They can also be used in more scientific fields, such as seismology or medicine. Perhaps most importantly, fractals have shown that seemingly random and confusing things can actually be described and predicted very precisely with elegant formulas. Thanks to Mandelbrot, it is now understood that all sorts of phenomena, from occurrences in nature to the stock market, are full of intricate patterns that reveal a hidden order and beauty in the world.



Rest in peace, Benoit Mandelbrot. You will be missed.

Benoit Mandelbrot, 11/20/1924-10/14/2010


Watch this TED talk by Mandelbrot himself a few months ago:



Fractal wrongness

Global Warming Meets Turing Test!

I don't normally visit twitter pages (don't have a twitter account to begin with), but this one is pretty awesome. It's a bot that scans twitter for the latest global warming denialist tweets and automatically generates a rebuttal with links for support! Of course, it's a PROGRAM so it's not always spot-on, but still, the idea is pretty cool. Ah, the wonders of repetitive, poorly researched claims...

https://twitter.com/ai_agw




So this is a lame post, whatever. "New" recipe coming soon!

Star Trek Technology: When Science Boldly Goes Where Fiction Has Gone Before

The post below is based on an article I recently wrote for the science/tech page of the school newspaper (I haven't posted for a while, so I figure something extremely geeky and of mediocre quality is better than nothing...). Enjoy!

Also, I have a new blog design! Isn't it neat?




For decades, the genre of science fiction has enthralled and even inspired generations of nerds, and perhaps one of the most-loved science fiction franchises is Star Trek. Yes, this show may call to mind geeky conventions and socially-awkward individuals, but after the 2009 film caused more widespread acceptance, it’s official: it is now okay to like Star Trek. Part of the franchise’s appeal lies in the awesome technology, and interestingly, the geeks who first liked the series have brought some of the gadgets out of science fiction and into the real world.

Set phasers on stun
Perhaps the most well-known Star Trek gadget is the phaser. The phaser is a device that shoots a beam of energy, which, depending on the setting will “stun,” “kill,” or “vaporize” the target. While there still aren’t weapons in use that will actually stun or vaporize, it is possible to make something similar to the fictional device, using only a blue-ray player and a few assorted materials you can find at any hardware store. The army is also toying with a few less sleek (read: bulky and expensive) weapons that could someday be useful for crowd control, since they are equipped to paralyze people with ultra-sonic waves and similar apparatuses.

The Ship
Without a doubt, the most powerful devices are found on the Star Trek ships themselves. Unfortunately, most of the technology is not yet developed, or is barely even conceptualized.

For instance, some experiments with transporters have been done, but nothing with human beings. Theoretically, a transporter would convert somebody into an energy pattern then convert that energy back into matter at a different location. The amount of information coded by only one person is nearly impossible to even imagine, and the ethical issues abound—is a person still the same person if they’ve been re-created in a different place?

However, the coolest trekkie ship technology being developed is the tractor beam. In the Star Trek world, the ships have devices that can literally pick something up and move it without touching it—for instance, if the Enterprise came across a ship that needed repair, it could “tow” it to a nearby station. Scientists have found ways to shift small objects around using lasers and hot gas. Of course, this means that the tractor beam could not be used in outer space, since space is a vacuum and thus does not contain air. But the potential applications are quite exciting.

I’m a doctor, not an engineer
Some of the coolest gadgets in the Star Trek universe are found in sickbay. Patients are regularly diagnosed or treated with small devices that do not break the skin, calling to mind our modern-day super-fast thermometers or jet injectors used to inject substances intramuscularly without needles.

Perhaps a more well-known device is the VISOR worn by Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The VISOR, a small device worn around the eyes that hooked above the ears, enabled the blind La Forge, to see the world through most of the electromagnetic spectrum (although he could not see visible light). While we still don’t have a device as powerful as the VISOR, researchers have begun to find ways to give people back some degree of vision. Like the VISOR, some of these devices use tiny machines that feed information directly to the brain or retina, allowing someone who cannot see with their eyes to pick up some degree of visual stimuli.

In Star Trek, procedures are almost always performed on people without even having to cut them open. While we still have to go into the body in some way, many modern surgeries are performed with minimal invasiveness—or, even better, by ROBOTS. And of course, there is now something that can act like the electronic pad the doctors so often used to read and analyze patient information: the iPad.


We may not have all the amazing technology from Star Trek yet—holodecks, androids, warp drives, true cloaking devices, photon torpedoes, deflector shields, and (fortunately) the Borg are still to come—but we do have a slew of other sci-fi-esque contraptions that will become, if they haven’t already, a staple of modern life.

Chicken Satay-ish

Probably one of the awesomest things about living in an apartment this year (besides my WONDERFUL roommates) is that I can constantly make food and have people over. Today, I did both (sort of)--so much fun! My friend J came over early this afternoon, and helped me make the rice and adjust the ingredients for the sauce, since I know absolutely nothing about cooking with curry and he is apparently familiar with Thai cuisine. R (one of my roommates) set the table, L (another roommate) dropped by, and we had a lovely time eating dinner!

Main ingredients:

• 5 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
  
• 2 cups long-grain rice + 4 cups water (in rice cooker)
  
• Extra-virgin olive oil for skillet
  
  Sauce:
  
• 5 gigantic spoonfuls of apple sauce
  
• 3 gigantic spoonfuls of chunky peanut butter
  
• 1 spoonful curry
  
• 1/2 spoonful chili powder
  (Microwave until the ingredients mix together smoothly, or ~3 minutes.)
  

Cook chicken in skillet. Add sauce and push around until well mixed. Serve on rice, with additional curry and chili sprinkled on top if desired. Absolutely delicious, and SO filling.

I will definitely have to try more "different" recipes. It's easy to shy away from the odd ones, since they're a bit intimidating, but this shows that they can be very WIN!

Recipe ripped off from foodnetwork.com. Thanks to my awesome mother for finding it for me!

Terapia de Tilapia

A bit less than a month ago, I had one of the most terrible weeks this year. It was absolutely AWFUL. My medication ran out, experiments didn't work, my lab presentation was a total fail, etc. I decided to take action, and spent Thursday lunch break cooking. This recipe was sort of improvised, using another recipe as a starting point. I had been craving fish, so I settled on tilapia, which I happened to have in the freezer.

• 5 tilapia filets
  
• ~3/4 stick butter
  
• black pepper
  
• lemon juice
  
• chili powder
  
• thyme
  
• salt
  

I started by melting the butter and mixing in the spices. Then, I dipped each filet into the mixture. Using my brand new skillet, Oscar, I cooked each filet for 2-3 minutes per side, pouring extra seasoning mix on top.

After they looked reasonably cooked, I moved them to a tupperware and added 1/2 onion, thinly sliced. After the onions were thoroughly done, I added them to the tupperware then put in 1 white potato, sliced. I occasionally poured any extra butter mixture on top. These then went into the tupperware as well.

Though I was planning on eating the tilapia for lunch the following day, my roommate L and I ended up eating this for dinner, along with some broccoli. Delicious--and therapeutic!

Plantain and Sausage Heaven

Having just purchased a skillet (named Oscar) I have been looking for stir-fry recipes to try out. I'd been trying not to use pots and pans too often, since I would have to borrow my roommate M's stuff, but now that I have my own, I am freeeeee to experiment!

Tonight, my other roommate L and I tried out a new recipe, courtesy of burpandslurp.com. I am titling it "Plantain and Sausage Heaven," for obvious reasons...here is the recipe, with some of my own modifications (picture is from the site--ours didn't look this pretty)!

1. Cut plantains and sausages into optimal-sized (as close to a cube-shape) chunks. Cook in pan.
   
2. Chop 3/4 onion, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 green pepper, and ~1/2 cup pineapple (all amounts are approximate). Pour these, as well as a handful of craisins, into the skillet.
   
3. Once the veggies are done, add the sausages and plantains back in.
   
4. Add ~1/4 cup mustard, a few squirts of lemon juice, cinnamon, black pepper, chili powder, ginger, and salt. Stir until everything is mixed and warm.
   
5. Enjoy!
   

Oh my gosh, SO delicious! L and I managed to have almost all of the requisite ingredients (she provided the amazing sausages and I had everything else lying around). We were missing mango ginger chutney and Greek yogurt, but we didn't really miss it. I used ginger to substitute in for the chutney and added craisins for color. We put in almond milk (as included in the original recipe), but I've omitted it from this version because it seems kind of pointless. Finally, I poured in orange-mango-pineapple juice at random times, since I had it in the fridge and we were missing mango to begin with. I don't know if it did anything, but if nothing else, it added an INCREDIBLE smell.

I highly recommend that you, faithful readers (all 6 of you :-)), try this recipe. Absolute win.

Hawaiianpizzaomnomnom

Favorite food in the world = pizza. Hands down. This is probably the thing I miss most of all since going gluten-free, and after more than two years, I'm still not used to it. I constantly crave it, and the torture is particularly acute since people eat it so often. Of course, it's not a big deal at all, but it's certainly nice when I come across a delicious, edible pizza. Even the non-delicious ones are fine.

Hence my excitement when I discovered that the Kroger near my apartment this summer carries gluten/soy free mozzarella cheese pizzas! Yes, they're a bit plain, but they're PIZZA!


Naturally, I glammed it up before baking and consuming it, so there were a few delicious toppings I piled on top of the pizza: chopped bacon, minced garlic, pineapple, and thinly-sliced onions.

So, so yummy. Amen.