Benoit Mandelbrot dies at 85

[herzmeister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/us/17mandelbrot.html

Benoit B. Mandelbrot, a maverick mathematician who developed an innovative theory of roughness and applied it to physics, biology, finance and many other fields, died on Thursday in Cambridge, Mass. He was 85.

[...]

Dr. Mandelbrot coined the term “fractal” to refer to a new class of mathematical shapes whose uneven contours could mimic the irregularities found in nature.

[...]

In a seminal book, “The Fractal Geometry of Nature,” published in 1982, Dr. Mandelbrot defended mathematical objects that his colleagues had dismissed as “monstrous” and “pathological.” Using fractal geometry, he argued, the complex outlines of clouds and coastlines, once considered unmeasurable, could now “be approached in rigorous and vigorous quantitative fashion.”

For most of his career, he had a reputation as an outsider to the mathematical establishment. From his perch as a researcher for I.B.M. in New York, he noticed patterns that other researchers had overlooked in their own data, then often swooped in to collaborate.

[bard]

Rest In Peace

He was a great scientist.

http://plus.maths.org/issue40/features/devaney/mandel_fig3.gif

[triad]

Rest in Peace, Doc.

[herzmeister]

I think it was in this video (http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/52) where he states along the way that he also believes in a Fractal cosmology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

That's a cosmology that is still considered as "fringe" by mainstream science, but is much more compatible with the "spiritual" aspects of life that many of us have found.

[thanaton23]

A mathematical genius! RIP Benoit Mandelbrot.

[justin_pushka]

What a guy! Gone to the place thats the best. The fractal in the sky. :(

[phemohilia]

Happy Trails holmes!!! :cool:

http://donotforgettolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mandelbrot_set.jpg

[plainsight]

Everyone should paste a fractal, to honor his name

http://www.fractal.org/Bewustzijns-Besturings-Model/Image141.gif

[rodin]

Growth is iterative (mostly)

Fractals are iterative growth objectified

That's all

[fenris]

http://cosi10.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/fractal-art-alfred-laing-spiral-fantasy1.jpg
RIP

[northern star]

RIP

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Mandel_zoom_12_satellite_spirally_wheel_with_julia _islands.jpg/800px-Mandel_zoom_12_satellite_spirally_wheel_with_julia _islands.jpg

He identified the nature of Forever

[disorder2k8]

To me the universe cannot be fractal, although it is perhaps fractal as a generic template there is a lot of randomness at every iteration, creating more randomness. It is not a true fractal, but more a 'variation on a theme'

[rodin]

Growth is iterative (mostly)

Fractals are iterative growth objectified

That's all


Compound interest is the fractal that gave Rothschild control over your life

[white horse]

Thank you Mandelbrot, you helped to pave the way to my leaving the path of the current orthodoxy. :)

[white horse]

Everyone should paste a fractal, to honor his name

http://www.fractal.org/Bewustzijns-Besturings-Model/Image141.gif

http://mumble.net/~jar/visuals/fractal.png

[herzmeister]

Growth is iterative (mostly)

Fractals are iterative growth objectified

That's all


Yes that's all. Simplicity. :)

He opened our eyes to that.



To me the universe cannot be fractal, although it is perhaps fractal as a generic template there is a lot of randomness at every iteration, creating more randomness. It is not a true fractal, but more a 'variation on a theme'


I think it's a matter of perspective. The variations you speak of might be chaos from our perspective. But that chaos just might be a fractal aspect of a higher object that we can't see. We can't see it because we're part of it. Not seeing the wood for the trees.

While we're at it, let's take such a tree for example. Trees are typical examples for fractal objects with their branches and leaves. Now let's imagine how the branches and leaves move in the wind. This movement seems to be chaotic to us for now.

But let's follow the tree's roots into the ground. Let's zoom in and zoom in. Where do the roots end and where does the earth begin? It's impossible to say. They grow out of Earth. They are an expression of it. They are one with it. How do we define where an object ends and another begins? It's all interwoven. It's all one.

Now back to the chaotic movements in the wind. The wind is part of the eco system of Earth. It's an expression of it as well. We're an expression of it.

But we look at that scenery and think of us as something apart from it. In reality, all we do is decoding the observation of the scenery with our five senses, and we're interpreting our role in it in peculiar ways for whatever reasons. Maybe because we simply don't understand.

[thanaton23]

He inspired this one I did about 10 years ago...

I plan to have this as a tattoo one day. Maybe I will have it done soon as a tribute to him...

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac334/Thanaton23/infYinitYang.jpg

[rodin]

The universe is more fractal than you know

it is not however multidimensional

[ladybird]

The universe is more fractal than you know

it is not however multidimensional


Please specify!

Thanks