March 9, 2026
Fractal flashback, 3D splash
Show HN: Hopalong Attractor. An old classic with a new perspective in 3D
Retro math art gets a 3D glow‑up — comment section whispers “cool”
TLDR: A GitHub project revives the vintage Hopalong attractor with modern Python and striking 3D visuals, turning classic math art into a fresh showpiece. Early comments are few but warmly positive, signaling quiet hype and nostalgia for accessible, open-source math art that anyone can explore.
A classic math doodle from the ’80s just got a 3D makeover, and the crowd’s first reaction is a soft but solid thumbs‑up. The Hopalong attractor—think trippy, kaleidoscope‑like patterns born from simple rules—has been revived in Python with slick 2D and 3D views, complete with a research badge and open code on GitHub. It’s the kind of project that screams retro screensaver energy, and the vibe is nostalgic wonder rather than nitpicky teardown. One early voice summed it up with a grin: “Really cool :)” — a minimalist blessing from the internet gods.
Under the hood, this is math‑meets‑art, originally popularized in Scientific American in 1986 and now brought into the present with modern rendering. But the real drama? There… isn’t any. At least not yet. No flame wars over performance vs. purity, no “use GPU or go home” ultimatums—just quiet appreciation and people bookmarking the repo like it’s their next chill coding weekend. The silence is almost suspenseful: will the usual “is this art or science?” debate show up? For now, it’s all vibes—a rare moment where Hacker News leans back, enjoys the pixels, and lets an old idea sparkle in 3D.
Key Points
- •A GitHub repository provides a Python implementation of the Hopalong attractor using pixel-based density approximation.
- •The project includes scripts for basic, 2D/3D, and extended versions (hopalong_basic.py, hopalong_basic_2D_3D.py, hopalong_extended.py).
- •Repository structure features folders for Alternative_Solutions, Documentation, Experimental_Dev, Output, and Statistics.
- •A Zenodo DOI (10.5281/zenodo.18811880) is linked for citation and archival access.
- •Historical context credits Barry Martin as the author and A.K. Dewdney/Scientific American and Spektrum der Wissenschaft (via HÜPFER) for popularization.