new subscriber intro

rick (rbecker@refractal.com)
Tue, 24 Dec 1996 11:11:31 -0500

I am here at the leading of Terry Gray, who thinks we might share some
common interests. I'm the Chief Steward of an unlikely science project
using plasma physics and mathematics to make jewelry. The gory details can
be found at our web site >www.refractal.com<. (PLEASE NOTE: This is not a
commercial solicitation! I hardly expect anybody on this list to fit our
clientele fiscal profile.) I am using microthography techniques from the
semiconductor industry as an art form for jewelry scale graphics in precious
metals. I've been working toward this goal for years, and now it is nicely
placed (via innumerable miracles) in the upper eschelons of the jewelry
industry for the '97 season.
What does this have to do with Evolution? The graphic form I started
following and adapting for technical reasons, was fractals. The rest, as
they say, is history, (or evolution?). I started reading about complexity,
eventually discovering Paul Davies and the ASA,(located a half a mile up the
street from my house in Ipswich), and Jack Haas (who gave me a Mercy C on my
second try at Chem 101 in 1968, at which point I became an English Major).
I am attempting to express in a new art form, the beauty of God's
creation as evidenced in complexity. We are starting out with abstract
fractals, but progressing almost instantly to algorithmically describable
life forms. That's where Terry and I connected. As a frustrated academic,
this project is my dream come true. I get to integrate all the things I
wanted to do but was terrible at (analytical science and art, to name a
few), by being an administrator. I have discovered the Springer-Verlag
books on the algorithmic nature of plants and seashells, and am seeking to
develop this idea further. The goal of the project is to fund a foundation
to further such work and other worthy efforts.
Sorry to chew the bandwidth, but that's my intro. Open to feedback.

Blessings,

Rick Becker
Refractal Design, Inc. | voice: 508-777-5500 / fax: 508-777-6575
57 North Putnam St. | Internet: rbecker@refractal.com
Danvers, MA 01923 | Home page: http://www.refractal.com/
USA | Compuserve: 71664,600