Clifford A. Pickover 268170 224904549 2008-07-10T22:49:26Z Mdd 113850 [[Image:Cliffflit.jpg|right|thumb|Clifford A. Pickover]] '''Clifford A. Pickover''' is an American author, editor, and columnist in the fields of [[science]], [[mathematics]], and [[science fiction]], and Research Staff Member at the [[International Business Machines|IBM]] [[Thomas J. Watson Research Center|T. J. Watson Research Center]]. == Biography == He received his [[Ph.D.]] in 1982 from [[Yale University]]'s Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, where he conducted research on X-ray scattering and protein structure. Pickover graduated first in his class from [[Franklin and Marshall College]], after completing the four-year undergraduate program in three years.<ref name = "BIOG08">[http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/biog.html Clifford A. Pickover - Biographical Sketch]. Retrieved 8 July 2008. </ref> He joint IBM at the [[Thomas J. Watson Research Center]] in 1982, as a member of the speech synthesis group and later worked on the design-automation workstations.<ref>Cliffor A. Pickover (1986). [http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/rd/311/ibmrd3101K.pdf "DNA vectorgrams"]. In: ''IBM J. RES. DEVELOP'' Vol 31 no 1, Jan 1987.</ref> Currently he is still Research Staff Member at the [[International Business Machines|IBM]]. He is currently an associate editor for the scientific journal ''Computers and Graphics'' and is an editorial board member for ''Odyssey'' and ''Leonardo''. He is also the Brain-Strain columnist for ''Odyssey'' magazine, and, for many years, he was the Brain-Boggler columnist for [[Discover Magazine|''Discover'' magazine]]. Pickover he has received over 50 invention achievement awards, three research division awards, and four external honor awards. <ref name = "BIOG08"/> == Work == Pickover's primary interest is in finding new ways to expand creativity by melding art, science, mathematics, and other seemingly disparate areas of human endeavor.<ref>The Third Culture (2008). [http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/pickover.html "Clifford Pickover"]. Retrieved 8 July 2008.</ref> Pickover is an inventor with dozens of [[patent]]s<ref name = "BIOG08"/>, the author of puzzle calendars, and puzzle contributor to magazines geared to children and adults. His Neoreality science-fiction series explores the fabric of reality and religion. On [[November 4]], [[2006]], he began [[Wikidumper.org]], a popular blog featuring articles being considered for deletion by [[Wikipedia]]. [[Image:pickover-stalks.png|thumb|Example of Pickover stalks in a detail of the Mandelbrot set]] === Pickover stalks === [[Pickover stalks]] are certain kinds of details to be found empirically in the [[Mandelbrot set]], in the study of [[fractal geometry]]. End 1980s Pickover hit on the novel concept of looking to see how closely the orbits of [[interior points]] come to the x and y axes. In these pictures, the closer that the point approaches, the higher up the color scale, with red denoting the closest approach. The logarithm of the distance is taken to accentuate the details.<ref name= "LV97"> Linas Vepstas (1997). [http://linas.org/art-gallery/mandel/mandel.html "Interior Sketchbook Diary"]. Retrieved 8 July 2008.</ref> === Frontiers of Scientific Visualization === In "Frontiers of Scientific Visualization" (1994) Pickover explore the art and science of making the unseen workings of nature visible. The books contains contributions on Fluid flow, fractals, plant growth, genetic sequencing, the configuration of distant galaxies, virtual reality to artistic inspiration. This work explores the many ways in which computers are now used as tools for simulation, art and discovery.<ref>C.A. Pickover and S. Tewksbury (ed.) (1994). "Frontiers of Scientific Visualization", Wiley, March 1, 1994.</ref> === Visualizing Biological Information === In "Visualizing Biological Information" (1995) Pickover biological data of all kinds, which is proliferating at an incredible rate. If humans attempt to read such data in the form of numbers and letters, they will take in the information at a snail's pace. If the information is rendered graphically, however, human analysts can assimilate it and gain insight much faster. The emphasis of this work is on the novel graphical and musical representation of information containing sequences, such as DNA and amino acid sequences, to help us find hidden pattern and meaning.<ref>C.A. Pickover, C. (1995). ''Visualizing Biological Information''. World Scientific.</ref> === Vampire number === In mathematics, a [[vampire number]] or ''true vampire number'' is a [[composite number|composite]] [[natural number]] ''v'', with an even number of [[numerical digit|digit]]s ''n'', that can be factored into two [[integers]] ''x'' and ''y'' each with ''n''/2 digits and not both with trailing zeroes, where ''v'' contains all the digits from ''x'' and from ''y'', in any order. ''x'' and ''y'' are called the ''fangs''. Vampire numbers first appeared in a 1994 post by Clifford A. Pickover to the [[Usenet]] group sci.math, and the article he later wrote was published in chapter 30 of his book ''Keys to Infinity''.<ref>Pickover, Clifford A. (1995). ''Keys to Infinity''. Wiley. ISBN 0-471-19334-8</ref> === WikiDumper.org === [[Wikidumper.org]] is a website created by Pickover that promises to permanently record a snapshot of the "best of the [[Wikipedia]] rejects", articles that are slated for deletion at the site. WikiDumper was launched on Nov 4 2006, and accepts user submissions. Although the site doesn't specify its criteria for inclusion, many of its articles don't [[citation|cite]] their sources. The site has been criticized as likely to be less accurate than Wikipedia. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/lifestyles/149374,3_5_EL27_P2CENTER_S1.article|title=Web sites go to die at Archive.org|author=Jake Coyle|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=2006-11-27}}</ref> == See also == <!-- This section lists Wikipedia articles where Clifford A. Pickover is mentioned or listed as a source--> {{multicol}} ;Related persons * [[Archimedes]] * [[Harlan J. Brothers]] * [[Paul Hartal]] * [[Stephen Hawking]] * [[Oliver Heaviside]] * [[Simon de la Loubère]] * [[Paul Moskowitz]] * [[Max Planck]] * [[Geoffrey Pyke]] * [[Clint Sprott]] {{multicol-break}} ;Related subjects * [[Chaos theory]] * [[Code (cryptography)]] * [[Criticism of religion]] * [[Divination]] * [[Factorial]] * [[Fractal]] * [[Fractal art]] * [[Genius]] * [[Hyperspace (science fiction)]] * [[Immortality]] * [[Irrational number]] {{multicol-break}} * [[Leviathan number]] * [[Magic cube classes]] * [[Möbius strip]] * [[Pantriagonal magic cube]] * [[Parallel universe (fiction)]] * [[Pseudomathematics]] * [[Scientific Visualization]] * [[Self-descriptive number]] * [[Siamese method]] * [[Sublime number]] * [[Time travel]] * [[Topology]] {{multicol-end}} == Publication == Pickover is author of over thirty books on such topics as computers and creativity, art, mathematics, [[black hole]]s, human behavior and intelligence, time travel, alien life, and science fiction.<ref>His books have been translated into [[French language|French]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[German language|German]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]].</ref> Books: * 1990. ''Computers, Pattern, Chaos, and Beauty''. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-486-41709-3 * 1991. ''Computers and the Imagination''. St. Martin's Press. * 1992. ''Mazes for the Mind''. St. Martin's Press. * 1994. ''Chaos in Wonderland''. St. Martin's Press. * 1995. ''Keys to Infinity''. Wiley. * 1996. ''Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide''. Wiley. * 1997. ''The Alien IQ Test''. Basic Books. * 1997. ''The Loom of God''. Plenum. * 1998. ''Spider Legs''. With [[Piers Anthony]] TOR. * 1998. ''The Science of Aliens''. Basic Books. * 1998. ''Time: A Traveler's Guide''. Oxford University Press. * 1999. ''Strange Brains and Genius''. Quill. * 1999. ''Surfing Through Hyperspace''. Oxford University Press. * 2000. ''Cryptorunes: Codes and Secret Writing''. Pomegranate. * 2000. ''The Girl Who Gave Birth to Rabbits''. Prometheus. * 2000. ''Wonders of Numbers''. Oxford University Press. * 2001. ''Dreaming the Future''. Prometheus. * 2001. ''The Stars of Heaven''. Oxford University Press. * 2002. ''The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11597-4 * 2002. ''The Mathematics of Oz''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-01678-9 * 2002. ''The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience''. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 1-4039-6457-2 * 2003. ''Calculus and Pizza''. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-26987-5 * 2005. ''Sex, Drugs, Einstein, and Elves''. Smart Publications. ISBN 1-890572-17-9 * 2005. ''A Passion for Mathematics'', John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-69098-8 * 2006. ''The Mobius Strip'', Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-56025-826-8 * 2007. ''A Beginner's Guide to Immortality''. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1560259848 * 2007. ''The Heaven Virus''. Lulu. ISBN 978-1430329695 * 2008. ''Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195336115 * ''Mind-Bending Puzzles'' (calendars & cards), Pomegranate, each year ===Neoreality science fiction series=== * 2002. ''Liquid Earth''. The Lighthouse Press, Inc. * 2002. ''The Lobotomy Club''. The Lighthouse Press, Inc. * 2002. ''Sushi Never Sleeps''. The Lighthouse Press, Inc. * 2002. ''Egg Drop Soup''. The Lighthouse Press, Inc. ISBN 0-9714827-9-9 ===Edited collections=== * 1992. ''Spiral Symmetry'', World Scientific. ISBN 981-02-0615-1 * 1993. ''Visions of the Future'': St. Martin's Press. * 1994. ''Frontiers of Scientific Visualization''. Wiley. * 1995. ''Future Health: Computers & Medicine in the 21st Century''. St. Martin's Press. * 1995. 'The Pattern Book: Fractals, Art, and Nature''. World Scientific. * 1995. ''Visualizing Biological Information''. World Scientific. * 1996. ''Fractal Horizons''. St. Martin's Press, * 1998. ''Chaos and Fractals''. Elsevier. == References == {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.pickover.com Personal website] * [http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/pc/realitycarnival.html Reality Carnival], a blog which regularly posts his links of interest * [http://www.twis.org/audio/2006/07/11/ Radio Interview] from [[This Week in Science]] July 11, 2006 Broadcast * [http://wikidumper.blogspot.com/ WikiDumper.org - The Wikipedia Knowledge Dump], Pickover's blog regarding Wikipedia articles slated for deletion. {{Persondata |NAME=Pickover, Clifford |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= |SHORT DESCRIPTION=American author and scientist |DATE OF BIRTH= |PLACE OF BIRTH= |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= }} {{Visualization}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Pickover, Clifford A.}} [[Category:American science writers]] [[Category:American science fiction writers]] [[Category:American columnists]] [[Category:Journal editors]] [[Category:Recreational cryptographers]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:IBM employees]] [[Category:Franklin & Marshall College alumni]] [[Category:Yale University alumni]] [[fr:Clifford A. Pickover]] [[it:Clifford A. Pickover]] [[tr:Clifford A. Pickover]] [[zh:柯利弗德·皮寇弗]]