Today I have been working from home, wading through the email mountain that builds up if you don't keep it constantly at bay, and getting back up to speed with how things have, or haven't in some cases, moved on in my absence. Will be back to all the fun of the office tomorrow.
Last night I finished reading The Ghost from the Grand Banks by Arthur C Clarke. I'd read it before, about 15 years ago, but wanted to re-read it because of its mention of the Mandelbrot set.
The book is set around now, even though it was written about twenty years ago, and one of the most striking things about it is Clarke's ability to look into the future. Admittedly he wasn't looking very far, and got a fair few things wrong along the way, but there were a number of times when he was pretty much spot on. (One of the things for which he was most famous was anticipating the use to which geostationary satellites could be put within telecommunications, rather longer ago!)
The book is set around now as it deals with the impending centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, which will come around next April, and with the story of two rival attempts to raise the liner from the bottom of the Atlantic. On a re-read, one thing that is noticeable is that the book is rather short on plot, and feels as though Clarke is looking for excuses to shoehorn in things he has found out, ideas he's had and facts that he has found interesting. I can gladly forgive him this as I found most of it interesting as well!
One point in particular was the Mandelbrot set, which featured heavily in the story. I remember being intrigued by it the first time that I read the book. So much so that I wrote a little programme for my Psion Organiser (remember those?!?!) which drew a rough version of the set. Can't remember how I did it now - may have to set myself a similar challenge to get a spreadsheet to do something similar. Yes - I know - major nerd!
Thanks to the wonders of You Tube I've found a video which starts with a quick clip of Clarke and then gives us a zoom into the Mandelbrot set. If you wanted to know what infinity looks like, here's a good place to start.