AMN10 Public Lecture by Professor Richard Taylor. Fractal fluency: Using fractal designs to promote health and performance

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Fractal fluency: Using fractal designs to promote health and performance

Richard Taylor, Professor of Physics, Psychology, and Art at University of Oregon

Fractal carpets are being installed in many buildings around the world, ranging from banks to universities to airports.

Dramatically referred to as ‘the fingerprint of life’, fractals have been shown to be the basic building block of many of nature’s patterns, ranging from clouds, trees and mountains through to our brains, blood vessels and lungs. Perhaps the most staggering factor in the story of fractals is that artists have been capturing these patterns in their artworks long before these recent scientific breakthroughs. Examples include Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings of turbulent rivers, Jackson Pollock’s epic organic paintings and M.C. Escher’s mind-bending prints.

The growing impact of fractals on cultures around the world and their prevalence in nature raises a simple and yet crucial question – does exposure to fractal patterns have a positive impact on the observer? Using sophisticated techniques such as eye-tracking and brain mapping, my collaborators and I are investigating fractal fluency – the idea that, through exposure to nature’s fractals, the eye has evolved to process these patterns with relative ease, triggering an aesthetic experience accompanied by reductions in stress and mental fatigue. Given the long list of stress-related illnesses (stress can impact schizophrenia, depression, blood pressure, hormonal imbalances, and even bone density), incorporation of fractals into our daily living and work spaces could have a huge impact on society. In this talk, I will review the facts behind fractal fluency and present applications such as fractal solar panels and window shades, along with ceiling and flooring patterns.