Sometimes I consider myself a fisherman. Computer programs and ideas are the hooks, rods and reels. Computer pictures are the trophies and delicious meals. A fisherman does not always know what the waters will yield; however a fisherman may know where the fishing is good, where the waters are fertile, what type of bait to use. Often the specific catch is a surprise, and this is the enjoyment of the sport. There are no guarantees. There are often unexpected pleasures. Readers are urged to participate by dipping into unknown waters. Hopefully, readers will enjoy looking at the catches or dissecting them further to learn more about their internal structures.

There's nothing else like this in the genre of computer graphics books. It contains a dazzling variety of mappings from quantifiable phenomena to computer graphics. The graphics make it possible for human beings to recognize patterns they would not have otherwise been able to see. This book requires some mental effort on the part of the reader, but the reader who sticks with it will find that the very nature of visual perception itself, as well as its relationship to reality, becomes a phenomenon that inspires childlike wonder. ( )