Fractal Milkshakes and Infinite Archery

TheArtists’Statements section of Leonardo is intended to be a rapid publicationforum. Texts can be up to 750words in length with no illustrations, or up to 500 words in length with one black-and-whiteillustration. Artists’ Statements are acceptedforpublication upon recommendationo f any one member of the Leonardo Editorial Board, who will thenforward them to the Main Editm‘al Office with his or her eno5m-t. ANUBIS STUDIESGENETIC ENGINEERING Flash Light, 24 West 30th Street, New York, NY, U.S.A. Received 15 November 1995.Acceptedfor publication RogerR Malina. On 16April, 1985, the NEW York Timesreported that DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) had not only been recovered from an ancient Egyptian mummy, it had been resurrected. The ancient DNA had been duplicated in a scientificlaboratory . What happens when genetic engineering is able to achieve true cloning of ancient human DNA?I raise this question in my kinetic light painting Anubis Studies GeneticEngineering. I had grown up with a typical Westem prejudice against the ancient Egyp tians, thinking them naive for mummifylngpeople to assure their afterlife . Suddenly,I realized modern science might show their ancient assumptionsto be correct. Anubiswas the Egyptian god who watched over the mummies and was also in charge of weighing soulsat the finaljudgment. My painting askswhat happens if one combines the potential of this myth with the potential power of modern genetic engineering. (The latter is represented by the “GeneMachine ,”a whimsical rendering of a real tool used by geneticists.) Metaphysics,for us, has meant “beyond physics.”What happens when metaphysicalquestionsinvolving immortality enter the realm of bioengineering? The ancient myths may prove our earliest guide to copingwith such questions. A strange light moves through the background of Anubis. The painting is on spun glass, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs)radiate through this translucent material from within the painting. This animation is controlled by softwarethat sequences the LEDs via a memory chip. The LEDs appear in groups of three, suggestiveof both Western and ancient Egyptian trinities. Most significantfor the painting is the trinity that “being”was understood to consistof:body (mummy),consciousness /mind (Ka) ,and spirit/feelings (Ba). During death, the Ba and Ka were believed to dwell in the art of the tomb. The painting poses a metaphysical question: what if the mummy’s clone is reunited with the thoughts and feelings expressed in the art of its tomb? If the new body experiences the same thoughts and feelings through the experience of art, has it achieved the pharaonic concept of immortality? The Egyptianshad a saying: “There is no limit to the power of art, but neither is the greatest artist master of his craft.” It has been argued that environment plays so large a role that a clonewould never even be like the person it is modeled after, much less a duplicate of the person. However, the larger issue concerns what happens when such speculation becomes subject to empirical tests, and metaphysicalquestions enter the realm of science. FRACTAL MILKSHAKES AND INFINITEARCHERY Clifford Pickover (researcher),IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, U.S.A. E-mail: . Received 2July 1994. Accepted for publication 4Rogerl? Malina. This abstract provides a mathematical recipe for creating a Ford froth that not only is aestheticallyinteresting but also characterizes the location of rational numbers in our number system.Let us begin by choosing any two integers, h and k. Draw a circlewith radius 1/2P and centered at (h/k,1/2P).For example , if h = 1and k = 2 is selected, a circle centered at (0.5,0.125)and with a radius of 0.125 results. Note that the larger the denominator of the fraction h/k, the smallerthe radius of its Ford circle. Choose another two valuesfor h and k, and draw another circle. Continue choosing values and placing circles. A s the picture becomes more dense, something quite peculiar becomes apparent. None of the circles will intersect, although somewill be tangential to one another (i.e.just “kissing”one another). tion of a froth in which I plotted 225 circlescorresponding to 225 different Figure 1 is a computer-graphicsrendiFig . 1. Clifford Pickover,Fmetal Ford Froth, computer graphics, 1994. In this image of a Ford froth, the authorplotted225 circles...