Is anyone else using fractals as one of their texts from the Stimulus Booklet?
No, I don't think it's a good text to use (but that's my opinion).
My teacher recommended that we should avoid it if at all possible. There are plenty of other texts you could use.
Recommended ones:
Texts 2a + 2b (The Conciliation and the National Picture)
Text 3 Sky High
Text 4 Sturt's Dreaming
If you're really desperate, use Text 1 The Door, but I wouldn't use Fractals, but have a read of the notes (to follow) and see what you think
What sorts of things do you think one would need to discuss when looking at fractals? Obviously language features aren't required... I basically say that fractals can be seen as a model for the infinite possibilities of change etc. My analysis just consists of talking about how fractals can be seen as a mathematical model for change. Is there anything else I need to talk about for fractals? Is the CD-rom encylopedia layout at all important?
You can talk about things like:
- It is a visual and written text
- It uses multimedia (e.g. the screenshot)
- It is a text within a text
- Fractals are resilient to change, they dont conform to change
Some more notes that Ive got:
* Text 5. Fractal - Microsoft Encarta 96 encyclopaedia
This text needs to be considered for both form and content. Text 5 is from a multimedia text; it presents a screenshot from a cdrom, Microsofts Encarta 96 encyclopaedia. The text in itself represents the changes that have occurred in information technology (IT) and how the cdrom has become a common method of presenting both entertainment and information to the mass population.
The example of the fractal screenshot in the stimulus booklet shows us the different search options and the interactive approach offered by multimedia texts as we identify the various functions it contains. We also recognise the use of familiar icons and symbols commonly used in computers to highlight possible options for the reader/viewer.
This text encapsulates the world's developing and changing technology with its multiple uses and purposes, and the changing access to, and presentation of, information via the computer and other electronic mediums.
The subject matter of the text, fractals, also presents notions of the concept of change. The fractal is a mathematical concept whereby shapes are repeated regardless of the magnification of the particles. Fractals constantly change but they consist of self-repeating units: each magnification is a new image but it is essentially a repeated pattern. Hence the use of the term 'self-similarity' to describe their key characteristic.
Their quality of infinite complexity suggests perhaps a natural resistance to change, whereby the very nature of the fractal appears complex and varied but is in essence repetitious. A fractal reminds us of the notion of the unchanging nature of things each transformation gives an illusion of change which is superficial as essentially nothing is really changing, merely a pattern is being formed and replicated.
The written text also highlights that mathematician Benoit B. Mandelbrot gave a new perspective on fractals with the discovery of fractal geometry. This also highlights that while the essential facts and substance of something may not change a new, fresh and different perspectives can transform the perception of the original.
People explore the world of fractals as part of their need to find patterns and logical sequences. A mathematical concept such as fractals reminds us that even in nature there are patterns that can be explained; new or unfamiliar things can be rationalised and understood, and thereby conquered and controlled. Fractals support the notion that while the world may appear random and unpredictable on a microscopic level, it is ordered and systematic: there is a reason and logic behind everything.
Our perspective on life can be changed by considering fractals. While we may think a particle experience or decision has drastically altered our life, it may be more like a continuum where the change reflects past actions, events and decisions a pattern of behaviour we may be unaware of, until we place our lives under the microscope. The old clich of history repeating itself applies to both fractals and the sequence of our lives.
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More notes that I have ...
*Here goes... (typing)
More notes that I've got:
* Text 5 Screenshot from Microsoft Encarta
This text is an interesting study in change as it represents:
- The changing fact of text
- The impact of technology on the production of text
- The new research methods and search engines available to the world's population
- The interactive element of electronic texts as layers of texts connected to one another through hyperlinks and icons
- The new ways in which texts can be read. This text assumes a new level or approach to literacy and expects a new perspective on this new world of text production.
Apart from the obvious elements of vibrant colour attracting the eye, focus carefully on what is actually happening. The reader/viewer has opened a page from an electronic encyclopaedia. The tabs across the top of the page provide links to other pages and allow a variety of choices.
The text focuses on fractals and gives a written text on definition, example, history a d current research developments. There are visual texts to support the written text and these allow for interactivity. Readers can click on a variety of hyperlinks, either written or visual, and either link to other encyclopaedia sites or zoom in on the electronic magnification of the fractal. Another link at the bottom left hand corner of the screen provides links to related articles.
Fractals themselves represent change through their self-repeating properties. This though is arguable because the only change which occurs is the repetition of the same pattern, and, by their very nature, they do not change as each structure is a repetition of itself.
Another aspect of change that is explored in this text is the knowledge that it imparts, suggesting that humanity is in a constant state of flux with developments in research. Fractal geometry was only discovered in the 1970s which is very recent in terms of the history of mankind. Not only are we constantly changing the ways in which we access and impart information, but we are constantly discovering new information to impart.
This text suggests the infinite nature of change.
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I hope that helps you out
