Why were fractals invented? Who invented fractals? When...

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Answer by John Nowakowski
Submitted on 5/3/2004
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The term "fractals" was coined by Benoit B. Mandelbrot. It was around 1977-1980 that Mandelbrot's work became noticed on a larger scale that "fractal" fell into popular use as a term. Fractals were not really "invented" per se. Mandelbrot's point is that fractals exist in great supply in nature. Popular examples: imagine you are high in the air and take a picture of a coastline. you zoom in with the lens and take another picture. you zoom in again and take another. and again. and again. there should be a similar appearance to the pictures of the coastline, regardless of being taken at different scales. or, a piece of broccoli. look at a large piece of broccoli. break off a piece and look at that. break off a smaller piece, and so on. each piece looks a lot like the larger piece. Mandelbrot argued that most phenomenon- clouds, mountains, etc.- have this quality. In more technical terms this is called "invariance" in regards to scale, or in other words, the closer you zoomed into the coast, or the smaller the piece of broccoli, there was still a lot about it that did not change. In mathematical terms, these are non-differentiable curves, meaning you cant find a tangent. Work in such objects, focus on symmetry and invariance predate Mandelbrot by centuries. Einstein's theory of relativity is more accurately called a theory of invariance. There are more technical definitions, which even Mandelbrot doesnt find totally satisfying, but it was not so much an "invention" as a conceptual revolution.

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Question by jutin
Submitted on 1/4/2004
Related FAQ: Fractal Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
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Why were fractals invented? Who invented fractals? When were fractals invented? How were fractals invented?

Answer by char
Submitted on 2/3/2005
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because it made childrens lives living hell.

Answer by alissa
Submitted on 5/25/2005
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hi what are fractals h hhhhhhhhhhheeeellpppp

Answer by Becca Baby
Submitted on 1/15/2006
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i like fractals. they are special. <33

Answer by know it all
Submitted on 2/3/2006
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This is not in the least bit true

Answer by mollu
Submitted on 3/23/2006
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The term "fractals" was coined by Benoit B. Mandelbrot. It was around 1977-1980 that Mandelbrot's work became noticed on a larger scale that "fractal" fell into popular use as a term. Fractals were not really "invented" per es. Mandelbrot's point is that fractals exist in great supply in nature.

Answer by Calvin
Submitted on 11/6/2006
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My math teacher said that it was discovered by a man named Euclid... or something like that.

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