Mandelbrot and Julia
Scenario: A mathematician defines a recurrence relation that, when applied, generates a fractal image. He leaves it up to a user on the front-end – any user, through a web interface, for instance – to define or adjust some minor but nontrivial parameters: colourization, magnification, the number of iterations, et alii.
Problem: Is it art? If so, who is the artist?
(We assert that in all cases, as a direct result of the elegance of the algorithm, the rendered image is measurably beautiful. Although we are not dealing with human subjects, the millihelen scale is one applicable metric.)
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