Benoit Mandelbrot

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1. 01

   Many shapes in nature — a coastline, a snowflake, a lung — repeat the same pattern no matter how much you zoom in or out.

   The Fractal Geometry of Nature · 1982

   Natural forms are fractal: their jagged structure repeats identically at any scale of magnification.

   If you measure a country's coastline on a large map, you get one number. Measure it with a much smaller ruler, tracing every little bay, and the number grows. Mandelbrot called these shapes fractals: equally jagged at any scale. Their math can describe mountains, lungs, and even stock market prices.

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