> On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Scott Hopwood wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 18 Jul 1996, Ryan Heise wrote:
> >
> > I think you are giving fractal a bit of a loose definition. A fractal
> > isn't any pattern, but a pattern that is self-similar at different levels
> > of scale.
>
> I agree with that definition.
Okay, so we're getting somewhere now.
> > Documents, while
> > displaying patterns, are not fractal. Basically, gzip will always do a
> > better job on the written word them then any fractal algorithm.
>
> You will not find every possible fractal algorithm published - are you saying
> that there is no room for development? I dissagree that gzip will _always_ do
> a better job than fractal compression.
Well maybe we're not getting anywhere after all. So, you're purporting that
an encyclopedia is fractal in nature? So, I suppose the bible is too? And
every other document ever created and to be created? Are languages fractal
in nature too? Really, what planet are you from?
Okay, so you say that we should stop thinking of fractals as patterns.
Well, aren't fractals patterns? They don't necessarily have to be
graphical, but patterns they are. Mathematical. Numeric. Whatever. They're
still patterns. An encyclopedia isn't fractal. Parts of the encyclopedia
may look the same as a particular fractal, but once again, is fractal
compression the ideal method to be using here? You could use RLE compression
on encyclopedias too, but that doesn't make it the ideal or logical method.
Peter
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Meric pmeric@nospam.socs.uts.edu.au
pmeric@nospam.progsoc.uts.edu.au
pmeric@nospam.acs.itd.uts.edu.au
"Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by
legislation. Stupidity is not a sin, the victim can't help being
stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence
is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out
automatically and without pity."
Robert Heinlein