Category Archives: Math

Then and Now–Performance Improvements

Posted on September 19, 2011 by brucedawson

In a recent post I made an offhand comment that in one fractal calculation scenario my new laptop is about 37,500 times faster than my old Amiga 1000. I suspected that in other fractal calculation scenarios the improvement is much … Continue reading →

Posted in Fractals, Math, Performance, Programming | 3 Comments

Faster Fractals Through Algebra

Posted on August 13, 2011 by brucedawson

I’ve been working on Fractal eXtreme on-and-off for years, and an important (and fun) part of working on it is optimizing the calculation of the Mandelbrot set, especially the high-precision math routines that allow deep-zooming. After working on this over … Continue reading →

Posted in Fractals, Math, Programming | Tagged , | 26 Comments

More Confusion with Percentages

Posted on July 27, 2011 by brucedawson

As I’ve shown in one or two previous posts, people use the word percentage in a very casual way. That is, they use it incorrectly. I won’t reiterate the details, but here’s another example from one of my favorite technical … Continue reading →

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Percentages are Confusing

Posted on July 2, 2011 by brucedawson

The word ‘percentage’ has a pretty simple and specific meaning, but the meaning of the word is gradually becoming more generic, like Kleenex or Xerox. Whether it’s the Mythbusters or Hockey Night in Canada the word percentage is increasingly used … Continue reading →

Posted in Math | 1 Comment

x64 Instructions for Four Times Faster Math

Posted on May 4, 2011 by brucedawson

Users sometimes assume that 64-bit computers (typically running x64 CPUs) will naturally run faster than 32-bit computers (typically running x86 CPUs). They often guess that they will run twice as fast. After all, 64 is twice as big as 32. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fractals, Math, Performance, Programming | 2 Comments

MythBusters Math Mix-up

Posted on January 9, 2011 by brucedawson

My family members are huge fans of MythBusters. Like many viewers we sometimes question the finer points of their science and their tests, but that leads to healthy discussions so it all works out quite nicely. However in a recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Math | 4 Comments