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Heaven's Fractal Net explores the uniquely useful geometrical forms found in nature and in cultures of the world. The visual shapes of fractals attract eyes with their fascinating beauty. They appear in images and designs with reiterated patterns whose parts are self-similar to the whole pattern--just as a fern frond is structured with smaller and smaller self-similar branches. The fractal-like imagery in religious architecture has been used to symbolize infinity, consciousness, vertigo, and wonder. In nature fractals serve as dynamic configurations for circulation, including the branching shapes of trees and lungs, rivers and nerves. A wealth of fractal examples is found in arts, symbols, and decorations. Heaven's Fractal Net is a book which explores self-similarities in worldwide cultures, providing a rich background for examining many geometrical shapes used by humanity, exploring processes of creativity in wisdom traditions, and delving into archetypal images in depth psychology. Fractals offer an organizing principle for many different kinds of hierarchies and composites, and in recent years "fractal" has become a familiar household word for a new yet ancient geometry.
About the author
William J. Jackson grew up in Rock Island, Illinois. After studying and traveling extensively in India, he continued his research of Indian traditions and languages at Harvard, where he earned his PhD in Comparative Study of Religion. During his thirty-five years as a university professor he wrote academic studies and several books about South Indian singer-saints and South Indian culture and taught courses about Asian traditions. His love of storytelling led to him publishing a historical novel set in India, The Singer by the River, as well as other coming-of-age fiction. Bill lives in Leverett, Massachusetts with his wife, Marcia Plant Jackson.
