The program uses distance estimate data (based on the derivative of the iterated function) to create a height map, and then renders that height map as a colored and shaded 3D image.

Some sample images: (click each image to see a larger version on my pbase site)
Julia snowflake 3D:

Mandelbrot flower:

And a fractal mountain landscape:

If you have [...]

Alastair Clarke’s Pattern Recognition Theory of Humour is an evolutionary and cognitive explanation of how and why any individual finds something funny.
It explains that humour occurs when the brain recognizes a pattern that surprises it. It also identifies implications of pattern recognition in childhood cognitive development, other species and artificial intelligence, and posits humour as [...]

Don’t forget to let me have the proper song titles in the comments…

“Because sharing information on the Internet today is a form of participating in public culture and contributing to public discourse, that gap tells us that men’s voices are being disproportionately heard,” says Eszter Hargittai, assistant professor of communication studies at Northwestern University. Hargittai co-authored the study with Northwestern researcher Gina Walejko.

Overall, almost two-thirds of men [...]