The man behind it: Benoit Mandelbrot#
A polish-born french-american mathematician.
Studied mathematics both in France and the United States
Broad interest in various scientific topics.
Worked on the idea of describing roughness in nature
Idea: Use simple mathematical formulas based on recursion to create complex shapes and curves
Effect: Self-similarity. Shapes visible in large structures repeat in smaller sections, creating more detail
Extending the work of French mathematicians Fatou and Julia led to the definition of the set of numbers named after him. The Mandelbrot Set.