FOTD -- April 07, 2008 (Rating 6) Fractal visionaries and enthusiasts: One of the most accessible interpretations of the quantum weirdness is the idea of multiple universes with multiple versions of everything and everyone. But this raises a question that I have never been able to answer. Are those other versions of myself (and everyone else) really conscious, and if they are, who are they? Are they identical twins who are constantly popping into existence complete with my stored memories, and if so, how do I know that I am not merely a twin that popped into existence a second or so ago, complete with a brain filled with the memories of the original me, who or what ever that might be? And at the other extreme, if those other versions of myself are not conscious, then what is the difference? Also, if some supposedly conscious people in alternate worlds are not in fact conscious, how many assumed conscious people in this world are not actually conscious? Finally, perhaps I am the only con- scious being in this entire universe. (Solipsism?) It is pathetically laughable to see intelligent and rational scientists twisting themselves into such knots as multiple universes to explain something that simply does not and can not fit into the classical world-view. I find the concept of a near- infinity of different versions of myself and everyone else in multiple universes a prime example of 'clutching at straws'. And IMO, when reason and logic lead to such an absurdity, it is a sure sign that something monumentally important has been wrong right from the start of the scientific method. It seems as though science is determined to self-destruct. If so, I wish it a pleasant journey. As for today's fractal, it was rendered with the outside set to 'fmod', and the initials of the name, "Fractal Mark of Doom", spell out that option. The scene lies in the Z^(1.99)+C Mandeloid as it appears 0.9 levels up the logarithmic ladder, where it is rotated about 100 degrees, so that the large period-3 north bud intersects the positive X-axis, which in this case is a line of discontinuity. Today's scene is located in the area of this intersection. The bailout radius of 1.79 is critical. The rating of a 6 seems about right. The picture really isn't all that great. The calculation time of just over 1 minute will give no one impatience. And the finished image is posted on the FOTD web site at: <http://home.att.net/~Paul.N.Lee/FotD/FotD.html> Sunday turned into the best day so far this spring here at Fractal Central, as full sun, gentle breezes and a temperature of 61F 16C combined to bring pleasure to all, including the fractal cats, who spent an unusually long time in the afternoon sun. As for me, I did as little work as possible, trying to ignore the grass, which is starting to turn green, but is still a couple weeks from trimming stage. The next FOTD will appear in 24 hours, give or take a few. Until then, take care, and would the real me please stand up. Jim Muth jamth@mindspring.com jimmuth@aol.com START PARAMETER FILE======================================= FractalMarkOf_Doom { ; time=0:01:06.42-SF5 on P4-2000 reset=2004 type=formula formulafile=allinone.frm formulaname=MandelbrotBC3 function=ident center-mag=+0.93654970565216/+0.0000009491899/\ 9.489796e+008/1/112.5/0 params=1.99/0/0.9/-98.31 float=y maxiter=1500 inside=0 proximity=0.1412 outside=fmod periodicity=10 colors=000cIQeJQgKQiLRkMRmNRoOSpPSrQStRTvSTxTTzUUz\ VUzWUzXVzYVzZTzYVzXXzWZzW_xVauUcrTeoTflShjRjgQldQm\ aPoZOqXNsUNtRMvOLxLKzHJzJKzLLzMMzONzQOzRPyTQyVQyWR\ xYSxZTw`UwbVwcWveWvgXvhYujZul_um`toatpbsrbstcsudrw\ eryfrzgqzhqzlszhqzeozamzZkzWizSgzPfzLdzIbzF`zBZz8X\ z5Wz6Vz7Vz8Vy9Vy9VyAVxBVxCVxCUwDUwEUwFUvFUvGUvHUuI\ UuITuJTtKTtLTtLTsMTsNTsOTyIPsOTnUXi__dec_kgTqkVpjX\ oiYnh_mgalfbkedjefidghcigbkfale`nd_k`Xoc_sfawhdzkf\ zmhzjfzgezdczabzpWz_azJfz3ky5jw7iv9htBgrCfqEeoGdmI\ clJcjLbhNagP`eQ_dSZbUY`WX_XXYZWW`VVbUTcTReSQbROdQM\ fPNeQNdQNcRObRObROcSPcSPbTPaTDeVP`T`XRlTPxPNzLLzOM\ zQNzSNyUOwWOuZPr`QpbQndRkfRiiSgkTdmTboU_rT`qUaqVbq\ WcqWdqXeqYfqYgqZhp_ip_jp`kpalpampbnpcopcpodqoerofs\ oftoguohvohwoixnjynjznkznlznlznmznnzqqznnzllxjiugg\ reepcbm``jZYgXWdUUaSR_QPXNMULKRJIOGFLEDHE9MHBOJCQL\ DSMEPPGQTHSXIT`JVdKWgMYkN } frm:MandelbrotBC3 { ; by several Fractint users e=p1, a=imag(p2)+100 p=real(p2)+PI q=2*PI*fn1(p/(2*PI)) r=real(p2)+PI-q Z=C=Pixel: Z=log(Z) IF(imag(Z)>r) Z=Z+flip(2*PI) ENDIF Z=exp(e*(Z+flip(q)))+C |Z|<a } END PARAMETER FILE=========================================