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From: jbuck@epimass.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.math,sci.crypt
Subject: Re: M. R. Schroeder's "Number Theory in Science and Communications"
Message-ID: <910@epimass.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Feb-87 20:41:29 EST
Article-I.D.: epimass.910
Posted: Wed Feb 18 20:41:29 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Feb-87 03:09:36 EST
References: <902@epimass.UUCP> <1247@husc6.UUCP>
Reply-To: jbuck@epimass.UUCP (Joe Buck)
Followup-To: sci.math
Organization: Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, CA
Lines: 31
Xref: utgpu sci.math:583 sci.crypt:235

Followups to sci.math only, as we aren't talking about cryptography
any more.

In article <1247@husc6.UUCP> greg@endor.UUCP (Greg) writes:
>>It
>>would have been very tricky to discuss fractals as much as [Schroeder] does
>>and say Mandelbrot's name fewer times.
>
>Except for the set named after him, Mandlebrot's name needs no mention when
>discussing fractals or any other area of mathematics.  His only achievement is
>that he *popularized* fractals among computer scientists and applied
>mathematicians.

Perhaps.  But he coined the term, and he combined a bunch of ideas
others had into a synthetic whole.  He pointed out a large variety of
fields that might benefit from a certain approach, and people
listened, some went in the indicated directions, and found fruit.
Popularization is an important function, often trivialized by the
experts (maybe partly because of envy because the popularizers sell
more books -- but then they write better).

In any case, the relevant chapter in Schroeder's book is basically
a summary of Mandelbrot's books, presenting ideas in the same order.

Schroeder's talent also seems to be in synthesis -- combining ideas
from several fields in ways that those who are too specialized
cannot.

-- 
- Joe Buck 	{hplabs,ihnp4,sun,ames}!oliveb!epimass!jbuck
  Entropic Processing, Inc., Cupertino, California