Jonathan Coulton

Well, someone else has emailed me to point out a flaw in the Mandelbrot lyrics. For those of you using my song to write programs that generate the Mandelbrot Set, I urge you to consult another source for clarification. Here’s the problem:

I say, “Take a point called Z in the complex plane, let Z1 be Z^2 plus C…” What I really mean is, “Take a point called C in the complex plane (and by the way, set Z=0), let Z1 be Z^2 plus C…” Otherwise, when you look at my lyrics, what the hell is C supposed to be? Well, I guess it’s supposed to be Z. Or something. Anyway, you can kind of get there my way, or at least, if you know what the actual algorithm really is, you will still recognize a vague outline of it in my lyrics. And perhaps you will laugh.

All of this makes me think of the one guy who really needs to hear this song and tell me what I’ve done wrong, Dr. Professor M himself. I’ve always wanted for him to hear it, but I fear his corrections. Which is why I just emailed him the mp3. Hopefully he will not be offended by the line in which I joke that he is not dead (yet). Or by the above-described mathematical shortcomings. Or by the “too-much-rocking” that I put in there.

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