Just WHY are fractals beautiful?

[Apophyster]

This article may be of interest:
http://www.livescience.com/26596-bird-plumage-fractal-fitness.html

" For birds, fractals are a turn on.
A new study found that the complexity of fractal patterns on a bird's chest communicates the animal's fitness to potential mates."

I suppose that's function rather than aesthetics.  OTOH, maybe the attraction hints at perception of beauty in creatures other than humans.

[cKleinhuis]

fractals are beautifull because they resemble natural patterns, classic geometric euclidean shapes are not "beautiful" because of their straightness, fractals are reminding us of things we encounter in nature ....

[John Smith]

Humans are the great pattern finders of the universe.  We love finding order, because order is something we can understand.  But mixed in with this is a love of new things.  I wouldn't say we take pleasure in imperfection so much as in newness or surprises.  Indeed, I don't think "imperfection" in the strictest sense can be applied to any fractal image, because it is so precisely calculated.  Imperfections in calculations usually manifest themselves as noise or artifacts and are almost always ugly.  But this love of the familiar mixed with love of the new is in many ways the impetus for art as we know it.  And fractals are ideally suited to this odd mix loves and fears because they are infinitely more familiar, and yet infinitely new.

[eiffie]

I thought that was well said John. I agree we find beauty in patterns that evolve. The basic function of the brain is pattern matching and it can determine our emotions. Humor is often in finding an unexpected new pattern emerge from an older well-known one. The new pattern confuses us at first then we quickly see our mistake. For instance, take my wife... please, which isn't funny at all if you already know the new pattern:) Beauty is often the same process but teased out over time, like tension and release in drama. Fear, confusion, anxiety come from not being able to find a pattern.

[makc]

imho, it's details. details imply cost, if you ever tried to draw things by hand, you'll know. so you appreciate detailed picture. it does not have to be fractal, but fractals just happen to be like that.

[Tglad]

Fractals are the most symmetric objects you can get really, since they have scale symmetry plus rotational, translational and usually reflective symmetry. That is all of the shape preserving symmetries that are possible.

Moreover symmetric objects are really simple, because all the apparent detail is just symmetries, so fractals are about the simplest and purest objects with detail that you can get.

Your brain probably sees the simplicity as how the object should be (e.g. a healthy tree) and sees breaks in that simplicity as less beautiful e.g. a broken branch, or a bird with one eye missing (in the case of reflective symmetry), or a honeycomb with some cells different (in the case of translation symmetry).

A cloud is a fractal, and often beautiful, but if a small patch is inexplicably smooth then it is seen as a break in the symmetry and suggests something more complicated has happened to the cloud (maybe a plane flew through it), it seems less beautiful since it seems more broken.

So that's my theory anyway... things seem more beautiful if you interpret them as healthy and not broken.

[Dinkydau]

It's probably many of the things already mentioned, combined. Plus, I'd like to add: contrast. Many fractals show a high contrast, which accentuates details and makes an impression of "bling-bling". In general I find that gradients with black and white in them work better than gradients without any black or white.

[Rathinagiri]

Because they are.

[makc]

thread bomb:



fractal boobs )

[M Benesi]

@makc-  hahhahahaaha... nice thread bomb.

@Christian- Sometimes it's what someone conveys that is important:

[eiffie]

This is an article about music but I think it relates to all art.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349594/description/Mental_puzzles_underlie_musics_delight

[Tabasco Raremaster]

In architecture it shows that steel rectangular I and H shapes are much easier to build with and , especially when forming triangles with them, can make much larger and stronger buildings in less time and at lower costs.
 In architecture arches are used for a very long time because they are known as strong enough to carry  a huge weight.

Welcome to the 20th century steel inforced concrete urban jungle.

NB: Do not throw away your into gigantic home-made LEGO buildingblocks meltable plastics
If you want to build your dreamhouse at low costs of course.
If not, I'll  be happy to buy it per 1000 Kg.

[Tabasco Raremaster]

Why are most fractals móre beautiful than me or mine I question more 

[M Benesi]

  Absolute order which skirts the line of chaos.