A lecture was delivered last Sunday for anyone interested in the subject of fractals.
A number of interested people were in attendance for a lecture on how fractals are used in mathematical equations and formulas.
The speaker delivering this lecture was Bill Bynum. Bynum is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at Westminster College and has an MA in Mathematics from the University of Colorado. He has taught a course in fractals where his students developed a workshop to present fractals to high school students. Bynum has also taught unique courses in probability and gambling. In his lecture he explained how fractals are created and how they help to explain our world.
Fractals are explained in this manner; they are geometric objects simply created by the repetition of a basic operation and have properties including self-similarity and infinite complexity. Fractals have a relationship with mathematical formulas. They have been used to describe such complex systems as the weather and stock market fluctuations.
Bynum became interested in the subject of fractals due to conversations with his peers. He likes the subject of fractals because of the great visual appeal and the appeal of the subject.
“The subject of fractals is a dynamic subject,” Bynum said. “It captures the idea of change.”
The lecture was held in the Salt Lake City Public Library. There were about 50 people in attendance. The lecture was designed for audience interaction. Bynum received good participation from the audience. They asked questions throughout the lecture, and then there was a 15-minute question and answer period at the conclusion of the lecture.
The lecture was sponsored by Forum for Questioning Minds, which is a non-profit educational forum with 501(C)(3) status, meaning non-profit. The organization is dedicated to providing a forum for less heard voices of interest to Utahns’. Meetings are held twice a month on the second and fourth Sunday of each month during the school year, September through May. The meetings are held on the fourth floor conference room of the Salt Lake City Main Library at 210 East 400 South from 1:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For more information on questioning minds, visit questioning-minds.org.