Gaussian distributions, II
No. 231, 1984
(Probability theory)
India ink and pencil on paper, 31.5 x 44 cm.
From far above fall iron bars, beams, rails, and stone blocks, which drop in lines from a cloudless sky, accumulating in piles and creating mountains on the horizon. Other bars lie randomly on the ground. In the distance stands a church, while a lone person leans against a giant bar in the foreground. Again the underlying theme here is distribution, shown in terms of bell-shaped curves that model normal distributions. In the picture's center, we see how the process begins, whereas toward the horizon, distant mountains grow as beams fall for a long time. These processes are steady and cumulative. Fascinating is the fact that random events can form such regular structures, and that mathematical models can give insight into their shapes.
