Gorgeous. Reminds me of a book I used to have “The Power of Limits” by Gyorgy Doczi.
I agree with Raphael, although I’d say that math is to the language of nature as rōmaji is to Japanese. It’s a convenient step for us to be able to begin to understand that which is beyond our grasp.
Aron
on 02 Apr 08
Ah, the loveliness of a vegetable. If you’re ever in San Francisco SPQR makes a great pasta with this – “Trombette with long cooked broccoli romanesco and ricotta salata” – even though by the time the broccoli gets in front of your plate it is no longer recognizable as the broccoli. Quite tasty indeed.
Adam
on 02 Apr 08
Sorry to spoil it, but I don’t think this is 100% made by nature – it’s a hybrid vegetable. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, as I’d like to believe that this occurs naturally in the ‘wild’.
Anonymous Coward
on 02 Apr 08
Adam: What is 100% nature? What is nature? Are we not part of nature? We’re animals, aren’t we? If a bird drops a seed 1000 miles away from where it should have been blown by the wind is that not nature? If we understand nature enough to hybridize it, isn’t that nature? We’re using nature’s tools. That’s nature, isn’t it?
Each of those small spirals follow fibonacci’s sequence, and the larger spiral is also a fibonacci sequence made of the smaller ones. Making the first two or three iterations of a Koch’s snowflake.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_snowflake
Pretty sweet stuff.
Anonymous Coward
on 02 Apr 08
hardly. many of nature’s designs are flawed or deprecated. The appendix. Tonsils. The human spine, etc…
we can do better.
David Andersen
on 02 Apr 08
“many of nature’s designs are flawed or deprecated.”
In what context; from what perspective? Flaws are subjective and relative. Your flaw is my perfection.
hardly. many of nature’s designs are flawed or deprecated. The appendix. Tonsils. The human spine, etc…
we can do better.
Ha! I would love to see you try to make (with your own hands) anything that is even remotely as amazing as even a single cell.
Nature does indeed win every design contest. Every cell in my body contains a complete blueprint of how to make me and no information storage system holds a flame to DNA code (not even S3, sorry amazon)
And all this by accident? I think not. (sorry for the ensuing flame war)
Anonymous Coward
on 03 Apr 08
by the logic above, nothing produced by nature can be optimized further or even rethought. That just doesn’t make sense.
Not trying to dismiss the awesome scope of the natural world, just pointing out that our designs for sn airplane don’t use flapping wings. We were able to choose and exploit certain features while disposing of others.
duffy
on 03 Apr 08
are we really going to do this now?........
John
on 03 Apr 08
And all this by accident? I think not. (sorry for the ensuing flame war)
Strawman..
Who said it was accidental? Don’t we all agree a complex system is at work here? Can’t we agree to disagree about the origin of that system? Or just not enter into a debate about it in blog comments?
p.s. God is a superstition.
Famous turn of the century Spanish Architect, Antoni Gaudi once said,”The tree outside my studio is my master”. This is a great illustration of what he meant.
His buildings were and are a true testament of organic design and mathematics.
DW
on 03 Apr 08
This is absolutely real. I am amazed about these every time I see them at the local supermarket. They aren’t even expensive or considered “special”. Still they are just wow!
Sam Leibowitz
on 03 Apr 08
Strawman.. Who said it was accidental? Don’t we all agree a complex system is at work here? Can’t we agree to disagree about the origin of that system? Or just not enter into a debate about it in blog comments? p.s. God is a superstition.
At this point, I implore you all to pick up a copy of “I Am A Strange Loop”, by Douglas Hofstadter. Wonderful, readable. He never disappoints.
Really, that book is more about consciousness than this… um, particular debate, which I won’t name because I don’t want to fan any flames. But it’s very relevant.
that’s really a fantastic post ! ! added to my favourite blogs list..
God
on 03 Apr 08
P.S. John is a superstition.
Anonymous Coward
on 03 Apr 08
dfgs
Alex
on 03 Apr 08
“Every cell in my body contains a complete blueprint of how to make me and no information storage system holds a flame to DNA code (not even S3, sorry amazon)”
Sorry, but not every cell in your body contains all of your genetic make-up.
Skip
on 03 Apr 08
Its called a romanesque, member of the cauliflower family. Hardly any of our veg is in it’s ‘wild’ state and I first had one ten years ago so it’s been around a while.
Taste is delicate, cook very lightly.
d_c
on 03 Apr 08
Oh I eat those before . Nothing special. but the spiral is beautiful.
Jim
on 03 Apr 08
Monsanto….. of course no veg is in its wild state, except when we find the brilliant few who work with heirlooms to persist the real existence of life
PH
on 03 Apr 08
Sorry, but all of you who wish to argue for/against creationism are fools. This conversation was supposed to be about cool-looking broccoli.
troo
on 03 Apr 08
It’s not a genetically engineered rarity, as far as I know, like glow-in-the-dark bunnies or anything of that nature. The first time I saw it was in my father-in-law’s garden seed catalog, along with all your other garden-variety veggies (pardon the pun).
Besides, if we can get all in-depth about the golden ratio in nature, why can’t this be naturally made too?
Anonymous
on 03 Apr 08
Eh, I guess it’s alright.
Tim
on 03 Apr 08
If you’re in the UK Waitrose sell these is most of their Supermarkets
Steve
on 03 Apr 08
Great symmetry and energy. Does anyone know the scale? Millimeters or microns?
Anoop
on 03 Apr 08
Yum. Every spring there is a vendor at Detroit’s Eastern Market that sells these. I was amazed when I saw it for the first time. tastes just like broccoli just a crunchier texture.
All Natural
on 03 Apr 08
This one is all natural. It is very common in Western Europe, and especially in Italy. It is called Romanesco Broccoli, and has been around for hundreds of years. Wikipedia says it was first documented in the sixteenth century.
Dystisis
on 03 Apr 08
Math is indeed the language of the universe. Not just spiral concepts (ala Fibonacci sequence) but all numbers.
Anyways, this is similar to sea shells (the ones with which you can supposedly hear the sea). They are also shaped like spirals. The same with many galaxies, including our own. These things don’t just form out coincidence, it is proof that the laws governing the universe is about numbers.
A more brilliant example of how the universe is related to numbers, in my opinion, on the atomic scale.
GeeIWonder
on 03 Apr 08
Sorry, but all of you who wish to argue for/against creationism are fools. This conversation was supposed to be about cool-looking broccoli.
Uh, actually it was supposed to be about “nature” and “design”, surely? And selection is certainly a key component here, as with almost everything we eat? It doesn’t have to be genetically engineered in a laboratory to be genetically modified.
Besides, equating people who argue against creationism with those who argue for it (or standing by and letting your future elected officials misunderstand that such views have merit) so you can talk about broccoli is like talking about the paint color on the Titanic.
Matt
on 03 Apr 08
At Dystisis: I like it.
Maybe, God is Gravity. Or, Gravity is God.
Whatever it is; it is so much more elegant (and powerful and fluid and…) than us.
It’s good to see someone else calling it fractal… I’ve been working at a company in Germany for the last year or so and they serve this beautiful vegetable for lunch in the cafeteria at least once or twice a month.
Each of those little buds reminds me of the Chicago Spire building being built:
http://www.thechicagospire.com/
BorkoBC
on 03 Apr 08
In Croatia, it is called “shannon”, no idea why. And it looks exactly like in the photo.
I’ve always referred to it as the “fractal cauliflower”, but nobody understood me.
indi
on 03 Apr 08
oddly enough, I’d bet the genetic encoding to produce the fractal buds on this beauty is simpler than a typical broccoli or cauliflower.
greg
on 04 Apr 08
wish mine came out this nice, of course I didn’t use any pesticides either:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glloyd/2386547476/
alek5
on 04 Apr 08
what about radiation in spinning
stevieg
on 04 Apr 08
I’ve smoked better, this is cheap D street
mimzy
on 04 Apr 08
So then what do we say about purple cauliflower? Or purple bell peppers? Besides the fact that they are a different color which makes it intriguing.. they just are like the brocclliflower veggies, grown from the soil.
How they got there in there revised form is no different from different ancestral heritages mixing in marriage. Not “pure” in the sense of blood line, but no less significant or part of the human race, only interchanged with an other. They are still part of the human race, just not one of pure heritage blood line of one race. Cauliflower and Broccoli 2 different races of vegetables.
So, lets get over it… it is nifty looking no matter how it got here. Some of us really need to get more excitement in our lives when this is the topic of debate.. and i can even believe I am responding.. been a slow week i guess.
Glenn Davies
on 04 Apr 08
Nature? For a relatively difficult to define or pinpoint entity, nature gets a lot of credit for something ‘it’ probably had very little to do with. But, then again, for some people, nature is their God.
indi
on 04 Apr 08
@mimzy: I am fine with humanity homogenizing. Sad that we lose diversity, but good that no one would care about the color of your skin. On the other hand I would sure miss there being a difference between peas and carrots.
Some of us really need to get more excitement in our lives when this is the topic of debate..
Hey, it’s human nature … something that joins us all no matter our race, religion or gender … that ANYTHING can be a topic of debate :-)
mimzy
on 04 Apr 08
Indi.. You are correct about human nature and debate.. I actually enjoy this sort of thing.. I was more referring to the issue of some people losing sight of what is really being talked about.. sometimes needing a bit more of an outlet.
But.. to your missing peas and carrots.. no one has removed them from the market. It would be more likely the hybrid creations/or evolutions, would go pass away/extinct, rather than the long standing “originals” Look at Eggplant.. it has stood it’s ground however, not the most widely popular food..but people still grow or buy and cook with it… Who knew? .
Anonymous Coward
on 04 Apr 08
a
Es
on 04 Apr 08
I’m kind of weirded out by this thing. My intellect processes the information on this page and says “this is food” but on a visceral level I get “augh, kill it!”
Great symmetry and energy. Does anyone know the scale? Millimeters or microns?
Steve- That’s a full size cauliflower. They tend to be slightly smaller than the white cauliflower, but not too much smaller.
At the Farmer’s market in Santa Monica, I like to get a variety of these along with purple and orange cauliflower. Side by side, you can taste the subtle differences. One is slightly sweeter, one a bit more bitter and the other a bit more earthy.
This plant must be very good at math.
I like this fractal shapes. They appear to be like the natural art made by plants.
I can only hope to create art of similar beauty.
indi
on 06 Apr 08
@mimzy: I agree, I’m sure peas and carrots are here for the long haul. I’ve never seen one of the subject fractal beauties. Maybe I should get out more :-)
Al in Detroit
on 07 Apr 08
Romanesco is tastier than any ordinary cauliflower or brocoli. And your kids will eat it because it looks so cool!! Break into florets, blanch in heavily salted boiling water for 3-5 mins, allow to cool on a dishtowel. Toss with pasta, top-notch olive oil, and very good grated cheese. You will be a fan of this veggie for life.
Jason co-founded Basecamp back in 1999. He also co-authored REWORK, the New York Times bestselling book on running a "right-sized" business. Co-founded, co-authored... Can he do anything on his own?
akt
on 02 Apr 08That’s Amazing. Is that real or a photoshop trick?
Phil Dokas
on 02 Apr 08More Romanesco Broccoli on Flickr.
Raphael Campardou
on 02 Apr 08Amazing both ways: If its CGI, it’s stunning. If it’s natural, it’s…
Raphael Campardou
on 02 Apr 08I always beleived Math was the language of nature. This if proof for me.
Joga Luce
on 02 Apr 08Gorgeous. Reminds me of a book I used to have “The Power of Limits” by Gyorgy Doczi.
I agree with Raphael, although I’d say that math is to the language of nature as rōmaji is to Japanese. It’s a convenient step for us to be able to begin to understand that which is beyond our grasp.
Aron
on 02 Apr 08Ah, the loveliness of a vegetable. If you’re ever in San Francisco SPQR makes a great pasta with this – “Trombette with long cooked broccoli romanesco and ricotta salata” – even though by the time the broccoli gets in front of your plate it is no longer recognizable as the broccoli. Quite tasty indeed.
Adam
on 02 Apr 08Sorry to spoil it, but I don’t think this is 100% made by nature – it’s a hybrid vegetable. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, as I’d like to believe that this occurs naturally in the ‘wild’.
Anonymous Coward
on 02 Apr 08Adam: What is 100% nature? What is nature? Are we not part of nature? We’re animals, aren’t we? If a bird drops a seed 1000 miles away from where it should have been blown by the wind is that not nature? If we understand nature enough to hybridize it, isn’t that nature? We’re using nature’s tools. That’s nature, isn’t it?
Mike Anderson
on 02 Apr 08Each of those small spirals follow fibonacci’s sequence, and the larger spiral is also a fibonacci sequence made of the smaller ones. Making the first two or three iterations of a Koch’s snowflake. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_snowflake
Pretty sweet stuff.
Anonymous Coward
on 02 Apr 08hardly. many of nature’s designs are flawed or deprecated. The appendix. Tonsils. The human spine, etc…
we can do better.
David Andersen
on 02 Apr 08“many of nature’s designs are flawed or deprecated.”
In what context; from what perspective? Flaws are subjective and relative. Your flaw is my perfection.
Rich
on 03 Apr 08Very cool – looks like coral. I love the color.
peter Sieburg
on 03 Apr 08Ha! I would love to see you try to make (with your own hands) anything that is even remotely as amazing as even a single cell. Nature does indeed win every design contest. Every cell in my body contains a complete blueprint of how to make me and no information storage system holds a flame to DNA code (not even S3, sorry amazon)
And all this by accident? I think not. (sorry for the ensuing flame war)
Anonymous Coward
on 03 Apr 08by the logic above, nothing produced by nature can be optimized further or even rethought. That just doesn’t make sense.
Not trying to dismiss the awesome scope of the natural world, just pointing out that our designs for sn airplane don’t use flapping wings. We were able to choose and exploit certain features while disposing of others.
duffy
on 03 Apr 08are we really going to do this now?........
John
on 03 Apr 08PaulRay
on 03 Apr 08Famous turn of the century Spanish Architect, Antoni Gaudi once said,”The tree outside my studio is my master”. This is a great illustration of what he meant.
His buildings were and are a true testament of organic design and mathematics.
DW
on 03 Apr 08This is absolutely real. I am amazed about these every time I see them at the local supermarket. They aren’t even expensive or considered “special”. Still they are just wow!
Sam Leibowitz
on 03 Apr 08At this point, I implore you all to pick up a copy of “I Am A Strange Loop”, by Douglas Hofstadter. Wonderful, readable. He never disappoints.
Really, that book is more about consciousness than this… um, particular debate, which I won’t name because I don’t want to fan any flames. But it’s very relevant.
Myspace Layouts Resources
on 03 Apr 08that’s really a fantastic post ! ! added to my favourite blogs list..
God
on 03 Apr 08P.S. John is a superstition.
Anonymous Coward
on 03 Apr 08dfgs
Alex
on 03 Apr 08“Every cell in my body contains a complete blueprint of how to make me and no information storage system holds a flame to DNA code (not even S3, sorry amazon)”
Sorry, but not every cell in your body contains all of your genetic make-up.
Skip
on 03 Apr 08Its called a romanesque, member of the cauliflower family. Hardly any of our veg is in it’s ‘wild’ state and I first had one ten years ago so it’s been around a while.
Taste is delicate, cook very lightly.
d_c
on 03 Apr 08Oh I eat those before . Nothing special. but the spiral is beautiful.
Jim
on 03 Apr 08Monsanto….. of course no veg is in its wild state, except when we find the brilliant few who work with heirlooms to persist the real existence of life
PH
on 03 Apr 08Sorry, but all of you who wish to argue for/against creationism are fools. This conversation was supposed to be about cool-looking broccoli.
troo
on 03 Apr 08It’s not a genetically engineered rarity, as far as I know, like glow-in-the-dark bunnies or anything of that nature. The first time I saw it was in my father-in-law’s garden seed catalog, along with all your other garden-variety veggies (pardon the pun).
Besides, if we can get all in-depth about the golden ratio in nature, why can’t this be naturally made too?
Anonymous
on 03 Apr 08Eh, I guess it’s alright.
Tim
on 03 Apr 08If you’re in the UK Waitrose sell these is most of their Supermarkets
Steve
on 03 Apr 08Great symmetry and energy. Does anyone know the scale? Millimeters or microns?
Anoop
on 03 Apr 08Yum. Every spring there is a vendor at Detroit’s Eastern Market that sells these. I was amazed when I saw it for the first time. tastes just like broccoli just a crunchier texture.
All Natural
on 03 Apr 08This one is all natural. It is very common in Western Europe, and especially in Italy. It is called Romanesco Broccoli, and has been around for hundreds of years. Wikipedia says it was first documented in the sixteenth century.
Dystisis
on 03 Apr 08Math is indeed the language of the universe. Not just spiral concepts (ala Fibonacci sequence) but all numbers.
Anyways, this is similar to sea shells (the ones with which you can supposedly hear the sea). They are also shaped like spirals. The same with many galaxies, including our own. These things don’t just form out coincidence, it is proof that the laws governing the universe is about numbers.
A more brilliant example of how the universe is related to numbers, in my opinion, on the atomic scale.
GeeIWonder
on 03 Apr 08Sorry, but all of you who wish to argue for/against creationism are fools. This conversation was supposed to be about cool-looking broccoli.
Uh, actually it was supposed to be about “nature” and “design”, surely? And selection is certainly a key component here, as with almost everything we eat? It doesn’t have to be genetically engineered in a laboratory to be genetically modified.
Besides, equating people who argue against creationism with those who argue for it (or standing by and letting your future elected officials misunderstand that such views have merit) so you can talk about broccoli is like talking about the paint color on the Titanic.
Matt
on 03 Apr 08At Dystisis: I like it.
Maybe, God is Gravity. Or, Gravity is God.
Whatever it is; it is so much more elegant (and powerful and fluid and…) than us.
Like a little fleck, I just sit here. Astonished.
Tony
on 03 Apr 08Broccoli on Acid
Guillaume
on 03 Apr 08GeelWonder: all is said. Well done.
Hungry Hippo
on 03 Apr 08I wonder if it tastes good…
Mike
on 03 Apr 08It’s good to see someone else calling it fractal… I’ve been working at a company in Germany for the last year or so and they serve this beautiful vegetable for lunch in the cafeteria at least once or twice a month.
J Phillips
on 03 Apr 08Each of those little buds reminds me of the Chicago Spire building being built: http://www.thechicagospire.com/
BorkoBC
on 03 Apr 08In Croatia, it is called “shannon”, no idea why. And it looks exactly like in the photo. I’ve always referred to it as the “fractal cauliflower”, but nobody understood me.
indi
on 03 Apr 08oddly enough, I’d bet the genetic encoding to produce the fractal buds on this beauty is simpler than a typical broccoli or cauliflower.
greg
on 04 Apr 08wish mine came out this nice, of course I didn’t use any pesticides either: http://www.flickr.com/photos/glloyd/2386547476/
alek5
on 04 Apr 08what about radiation in spinning
stevieg
on 04 Apr 08I’ve smoked better, this is cheap D street
mimzy
on 04 Apr 08So then what do we say about purple cauliflower? Or purple bell peppers? Besides the fact that they are a different color which makes it intriguing.. they just are like the brocclliflower veggies, grown from the soil. How they got there in there revised form is no different from different ancestral heritages mixing in marriage. Not “pure” in the sense of blood line, but no less significant or part of the human race, only interchanged with an other. They are still part of the human race, just not one of pure heritage blood line of one race. Cauliflower and Broccoli 2 different races of vegetables. So, lets get over it… it is nifty looking no matter how it got here. Some of us really need to get more excitement in our lives when this is the topic of debate.. and i can even believe I am responding.. been a slow week i guess.
Glenn Davies
on 04 Apr 08Nature? For a relatively difficult to define or pinpoint entity, nature gets a lot of credit for something ‘it’ probably had very little to do with. But, then again, for some people, nature is their God.
indi
on 04 Apr 08@mimzy: I am fine with humanity homogenizing. Sad that we lose diversity, but good that no one would care about the color of your skin. On the other hand I would sure miss there being a difference between peas and carrots.
Some of us really need to get more excitement in our lives when this is the topic of debate..
Hey, it’s human nature … something that joins us all no matter our race, religion or gender … that ANYTHING can be a topic of debate :-)
mimzy
on 04 Apr 08Indi.. You are correct about human nature and debate.. I actually enjoy this sort of thing.. I was more referring to the issue of some people losing sight of what is really being talked about.. sometimes needing a bit more of an outlet.
But.. to your missing peas and carrots.. no one has removed them from the market. It would be more likely the hybrid creations/or evolutions, would go pass away/extinct, rather than the long standing “originals” Look at Eggplant.. it has stood it’s ground however, not the most widely popular food..but people still grow or buy and cook with it… Who knew? .
Anonymous Coward
on 04 Apr 08a
Es
on 04 Apr 08I’m kind of weirded out by this thing. My intellect processes the information on this page and says “this is food” but on a visceral level I get “augh, kill it!”
Jonah
on 04 Apr 08Steve- That’s a full size cauliflower. They tend to be slightly smaller than the white cauliflower, but not too much smaller.
At the Farmer’s market in Santa Monica, I like to get a variety of these along with purple and orange cauliflower. Side by side, you can taste the subtle differences. One is slightly sweeter, one a bit more bitter and the other a bit more earthy.
Moos Holler
on 05 Apr 08This plant must be very good at math. I like this fractal shapes. They appear to be like the natural art made by plants.
I can only hope to create art of similar beauty.
indi
on 06 Apr 08@mimzy: I agree, I’m sure peas and carrots are here for the long haul. I’ve never seen one of the subject fractal beauties. Maybe I should get out more :-)
Al in Detroit
on 07 Apr 08Don Schenck
on 09 Apr 08Mmmmm … mashed cauliflower and garlic … mmmmm …
This discussion is closed.