This is a basic principle that we see over and over again in the fractal structure of organic life forms throughout the natural world. Trees are natural fractals, patterns that repeat smaller and smaller copies of themselves to create the biodiversity of a forest.Įach tree branch, from the trunk to the tips, is a copy of the one that came before it. Here’s an excellent example of a Mandelbrot Set:Ī fractal is a pattern that the laws of nature repeat at different scales. Mandelbrot is best known for his discovery in mathematics of the Mandelbrot Set, which can be programmed into basic lines of code that create an infinite stream of changing, self-similar patterns. In his seminal work The Fractal Geometry of Nature, he defines a fractal as “a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole.”
The term fractal was coined by the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot in 1975. The structure of so much organic life follows self-similar, fractal patterns, which can be observed in flowers, trees, plants, and even mountains and coastlines. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”Įver since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated by the similar patterns and shapes that nature repeats all around us. Develop your senses – especially learn how to see.
