Tom Stoppard's Arcadia

http://classes.yale.edu/fractals/panorama/literature/stoppard/stoppard.html

Tom Stoppard's play Arcadia (Faber and Faber, 1993) places fractals and chaos in the discoveries of a 19th century mathematical prodigy, Thomasina Coverly, and in fluctuations of the grouse population of the present-day Coverly estate.

The play moves back and forth between the two times, until the end of the play, Scene Seven, when the times interpenetrate.

Thomasina's rebellions against determinism and Euclidean geometry provide an excellent introduction to the motivations of fractal geometry and chaotic dynamics.

Examples from Scene One An example from Scene Three Examples from Scene Four Examples from Scene Seven

Fractals may appear in a more subtle fashion in the structure of the play. Here is an example, first observed by Joise Rodberg.

Be sure to consult Bob Devaney's Arcadia website http://math.bu.edu/DYSYS/arcadia.