Benoit Mandelbrot, the mathematics professor at Yale University who coined the word "fractal," passed away Oct. 14 at the age of 85. His death recalls the complicated history of his life's work -- the ...

While working on a second college degree in the 1980s, Don Bristow came across a book called “The Fractal Geometry of Nature.” The book’s purpose was to show that fractals — geometric shapes with ...

Fractals are a fascinating type of pattern for mathematics nerds, with their repeating, artificial-looking structures. Now, scientists have discovered the first known fractal protein – and it seems to ...

Have you ever stared at a cauliflower before preparing it and got lost in its stunningly beautiful pattern? Probably not, if you are in your right mind, but I reassure you it's worth a try. What ...

For all those who have hitherto believed the world to be made of just single, double or multi-dimensional objects, fractals unravel a whole new prospect, says Robert L Devaney, president of the ...

The term “mathematical art” usually conjures up images of M.C. Escher’s endless staircases, Möbius-strip ants, and mind-boggling tilings. Or it might remind one of the intimate intertwining of ...

Unfortunately, this book can't be printed from the OpenBook. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a PDF. Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this ...

Piet Mondrian painted the same tree in "The gray tree" (left) and "Blooming apple tree" (right). Viewers can readily discern the tree in "The gray tree" with a branch diameter scaling exponent of 2.8.

The term “mathematical art” usually conjures up images of M.C. Escher’s endless staircases, Möbius-strip ants, and mind-boggling tilings. Or it might remind one of the intimate intertwining of ...