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User: telaurent

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  1. Description vs. Creation on A New Kind of Science · · Score: 1, Redundant

    The difference between fractals and cellular automations: fractals are a way to mathematically catalog the points that make up the object while cellular automations are a way to actually physically create the object via a growth process. It's a somewhat subtle difference - and a key Wolfram point.

    Science aside, this is an excellent description of one of the differences between traditional ,representational Western European painting and certain types of traditional oriental painting, such as Chinese and Japanese landscapes.

    The representational Western Eurpean tradition is predicated on describing what the eye perceives. The oriental tradition is predicated on movements with brush and ink that mimic the growth and development of the subject itself. Compare a Dutch still life of flowers with a Chinese painting of bamboo. The Dutch still life is a photograph; the Chinese painting is a visual record of the growth of a bamboo plant.

    Makes me wonder about the extent to which the Western European world view is hindered by the inability to be both a participant and an observer at the same time....