When I saw this back in August, I laughed in delight. I think it is a rather clever idea, well executed. (It’s by Farley Katz, and was in the New Yorker, Aug 11th ’08. (Link is to cartoon bank where you can get it.))
Actually, it reminded me of the delicious fractal I photographed for you and that we discussed here not long ago. That one was real, this one imagined, but nevertheless rather good.
-cvj
That is brilliant. The intro physics class I tutor for has a fractals/chaos homework set due next week, so I’m going to make a point of showing it to anyone who shows up at my sessions. Thanks!
What is it with the New Yorker cartoons and maths? Over 50 years ago a Charles Addams (he of ‘family’ fame) cartoon provided an illustration of an infinite Coxeter group, albeit with the symmetry broken by the intrusion of a little devil.
But it would have been rather easy for the cartoonist to have done the giraffractal as an Alexander Horned Sphere, and it would have been so much better that way…