Maps

What is this?
Some sort of rare fossil formed in glass or crystal? Seaweed or ferns imprinted into ice? No, this is something you could make. It is a natural fractal pattern formed by air displacing a vacuum that resulted from pulling two glue-covered acrylic sheets apart.

And you thought that any sort of (productive) play with glue ended after Kindergarten ...

Welcome to this blog.
The header of this page includes images representing different types of maps - some of which are fractals and some that are not.

If you're curious, these images are:

Top Row (from left to right):
Snow on top of cracking masonry (first), the structural formula of dopamine (below masonry), a power grid, a cast of the human lungs and circulatory system, lightning, a hand (palm), the universe, a family tree




Bottom Row (from left to right):
DNA, neural networks, a mindmap, a tree with bare branches, Seoul's subway system, a mountain range

Want to make your own fractals, sans paste?

• Make fractal cookies with the help of Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
• Be inspired to make your own 3D Fiction
• Or make music with fractals at Fractal Vibes or Music in the Numbers

Have any other online examples or tools to share for making fractals? Please share them!

"Mappery" - the Concept

I've been trying to flesh out the common thread running through all the things that intrigue me that I'd like to make this blog about. I decided the word "mappery" pretty much conjures it up for me. I'll define it very loosely as exploring and understanding our (internal and external) worlds in order to improve our lives.

External World:
I love the gamut of exploring / manipulating / hacking space. I.E. exploring “virtual worlds”, an appreciation for miniature versions of things, urban exploration (on and off the radar – discovering hidden nooks and crannies of cities, abandoned buildings, rooftops, underground, etc.), panoramas / 360 degree pictures, parkour / free running (finding the most efficient way to get from point a to point b which just so happens to look really freaking awesome), etc.

Internal World:
I’m fascinated by how the brain works / why we think the way we do – more specifically, how to change the way we think to improve our lives – i.e. “mind hacking” and cognitive reconditioning.
I find mind maps to be fascinating: they can be illuminating, insightful, revealing, and more-often-than-not really beautiful to look at.