Discussion
How would you explain the mandelbrot set to a sixth grade student who is trying to distract you from teaching your substitute lesson on solving linear equations?
(I swear to god these kids pass around lists of which topics distract which teachers most easily. They know the ants won't work, it's too obvious. But this was a good one.)
Said student also has some peers convinced that the mandelbrot set will "eat you" and I haven't done much to clear up this rumor.
@futurebird "Oooh, that's a really interesting question...let's write it down over here on the parking lot board, and if we get through today's material in time, we'll dig into it!"
@futurebird It's day-glo pterodactyl, so could conceivably eat you.
@futurebird I was that kid and certain teachers did think of me as a distraction.
And because the teacher blew me off, I blew off education and curriculum.
Best thing that happened to me.
If you don't want their prizes, you don't have to play their games.
What value is a gold star? 🤣
We lost lehrfreheit and lernefreheit somewhere along the way in education institutions that pit teachers against curious students in antagonist ways.
@futurebird
I once was at a hippie party called „Fractal Universe“… they sold literal „Mandelbrot“ there.
I brought my 3D-printed Sierpinsky tetrahedron (4th order) with me and everybody was quite impressed!
I had a very good time!
@futurebird The Mandelbrot set won't eat you but you can definitely eat a Mandelbrot (almond bread).
@futurebird Too bad Jonathan Coulton's "Mandelbrot Set" has an f-bomb in it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tsutU92rrE
YouTube
@futurebird might I suggest having them watch the pbs program about fractals?
Because they are everywhere and are important for everything?
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fractals/
@futurebird
The ants won’t work with you?! Shocking!
I am shocked!
(Just teasing 😹😉!)
challenge the naughtiest ones to develop an algorithm for plotting sub-pixel detail...
YouTube
@futurebird haha mathematical cryptids. get this kid a @cstross book, right quick.
@futurebird Agree with the student that it will eat them so it’s best to ignore it and focus on the here and now which is the intended lesson 🙃
@futurebird
It can certainly eat one’s attention…
The student should:
Plot a fibbonaci sequence subset.
Calculating a logistic set, that produces a chaotic sequences of elements, based on the value of the previous element in the set. Plot the subset.
Compare the pair.
For extra giggles, think about ways of measuring the internal surface area of a loaf of bread.
@futurebird They have that backwards. A Mandelbrot set is a plate of hard, crunchy cookies. *You* eat *it*.
@futurebird (My attempt)
If you have a function, you can take the output of it and feed it back in. This is called iteration. If you keep doing this, one of three things will happen: it'll head off to infinity, or it'll get closer and closer to one point, or it'll just bounce around within a range of values forever. We call these attractors. There's a simple formula, f(z)=z^2+c, where the z and c are what's called complex numbers. You can pick a value of c and iterate this formula. 1/2