Beware of mathematical porn

Greetings.

Jewish date:  1 ’Adhar 5770 (Parashath Terumah).

Today’s quasi-holiday:  Presidents Day.  (Or is it?  See “Presidents Day”.)

Worthy causes of the day:  “Tell President Obama to Stop Big Oil's Race to Ruin in the Tar Sands”, “Save BioGems: Take Action: Save Yellowstone/Greater Rockies”, “MoveOn.org Political Action: Demand an explanation from Anthem Blue Cross”, “Stop Corporate-Sponsored Wolf Slaughters - The Petition Site”, and “Support Malaria Vaccination Research - The Petition Site”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Scientist aims to break squid record”
  
• “Health Insurers Post Record Profits:  Insurance Firms Rake in Profits as They Cut Patients, Advocacy Group Says”:  Oops.
• “How do coronary stents work?”
  
• “Is Ethanol from Corn Bad for the Climate?”
  
• “New black hole simulator uses real star data”
  
• “Toner-, ink- and paperless printer (video)”
  

Image of the Mandelbrot set via Wikipedia

Today’s weird thing is “Mandelbrot Fractal Set Trip To e214 HD”.  (I wish I could embed this video, but Vimeo seems to have other ideas, so please click on the link.)  In this video we see the famous Mandelbrot set, over 9 minutes 54 seconds zoomed in to a magnification of 10²¹⁴, showing off its self-similar fractal nature to an extent that boggles the mind.  The creator describes this stunt as “Mathematical Porn”, and I think there may be a grain of truth in this unsavory description.  Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron