“It is an approximation of the locus of connectedness for the Julia sets of the family of functions f(z) = z^2 + lambda/(z^2) (rotated by pi/2). This is analogous to the standard Mandelbrot set (which applies to the family f(z) = z^2 + c), but holds additional fascination because for lambda values which are in the interior of one of the subdomains of the connectedness locus, the Julia set is a Universal Curve. To me this represents the structure unifying chaos (since Julia sets are chaotic) and order (since Universal Curves act as a sort of catalog of all planar curves).” –Aaron
“It’s great to see that there are other uber-nerds out there! I am a microbiologist so my obvious choice was a microscope. This one is an antique from 1893, and it is along the left side of my spine.” –Jillian
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Originally published February 17, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
“Just wanted to jump on the bandwagon with my own tribute to my scientific style. This is a tattoo of the word for Body, Spirit, Person.People, and Life in Owens Valley Paiute, written in International Phonetic Alphabet. I am a Linguist that specializes in Endangered languages and thought i needed this tagged on me.”–Russ
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Originally published February 17, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
“This is an artist’s rendition of Frake Drake’s Solar Location Map on the Pioneer plaques. [CZ: Actually, I think it’s Voyager] I’m an application engineer… A science fan that just wanted the aliens to know where to return me if I were to be abducted : )” –Matt
Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
Originally published February 17, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
“I am a currently a neuroimaging research assistant and I used to work in inorganic chemistry. I got this tattoo after I took a philosophy class on the origins of life, which turned out to be an intelligent design class in disguise. The geological record was always being disputed in class. This is my political statement against intelligent design being taught in schools. This tattoo shows my support of the geological record and evolution, as well as my love for trilobites and other ancient marine creatures. It is based on the species paradoxides davidis. I am going to get a similar tattoo on the other arm of a fossilized leaf, so that I have both the flora and the fauna.” — Judith Segall