Pattern

As a pattern is called visible surface drawings or structures. In a broader sense, it can also be sequential in time or space structures in signals.

Basics

Optical or acoustic signals with no obvious pattern is called noise. All important things for living things exhibit patterns on whose observable properties are characterized by a minimum of repetition ( periodicity ) and symmetries, both of which may be exactly or approximately, that is stochastic.

Since patterns repeated structures are intrinsically, they can be recognized well. The brains of the animals are perfected through evolution pattern recognition machines ( pattern recognition: engl. Pattern recognition ). However, for natural organisms generally only model with a complexity between perfect symmetry and absolutely structureless noise essential meaning: be like What ever repeated and hurt me or not immediately affected, such as the ticking of a clock is just as important the continued noise of a stream. So patterns have a medium entropy the highest payload for every living being.

The other pattern -oriented research direction is the pattern formation (german pattern formation ). In particular, the science branches of Synergetics and chaos theory have proven that for the generation of highly complex patterns are often enough simple, recursively executed formation rules, or as spontaneous ( approximate ) order out of seeming "chaos" can occur.

Pattern formation and pattern recognition are complementary to each other, but mutually dependent and mutually, on the one hand pattern recognition in general is an active process, the regularities in signals not only analyzed but also produces (think of the perception of geometric " patterns " on rushing screens ). In particular, the human perception as an active mental power can be adjusted so that it is believed to recognize patterns, although there are none. This phenomenon is called pareidolia. On the other hand, the proof of the objective existence of some " pattern " without a subjective observer is quite difficult (think of the musical sensation that a trained ear can give aesthetic pleasure, where the untrained listeners only " chaos " senses ).

Examples of patterns

Geometry, mathematics

• Fractals
• Tiling
• Pascal 's Triangle
• Figured number Triangular number, tetrahedral number, centered Sechseckszahl

Nature

• Crystal lattice
• Dunes
• Ripple marks on the beach
• Water waves
• Cloud formations
• Plant growth forms ( V.A. of higher plants ) particular Phyllotaxis

Art

• Knitting patterns, textile patterns
• Ornament ( Fine Art) ( surface or spatial)
• Music (in time)
• Kaleidoscope