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216th out of 596 books
—
1,318 voters
The Fractal Geometry of Nature
Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, and lightening does not travel in a straight line. The complexity of nature's shapes differs in kind, not merely degree, from that of the shapes of ordinary geometry, the geometry of fractal shapes.
Now that the field has expanded greatly with many active researchers, Mandelbrot presents the definitive overview of the origin...more
Now that the field has expanded greatly with many active researchers, Mandelbrot presents the definitive overview of the origin...more
Hardcover, 480 pages
Published
August 15th 1982
by Times Books
(first published 1982)
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I believe this is where I first encountered such oddities of geometry and math, some of which were once thought to be monsters, as Cantor dust, Sierpinski triangles, Koch snowflakes, Peano curves, and the like. More important, it's where I first found explicated the idea of fractional dimensionality, from which I believe Mandelbrot derived the term "fractal." (The concept itself comes from a German mathematician named Hausdorff, but Mandelbrot generalized it). A solid understanding of the book i...more
More a reference than a read, Mandelbrot was the first mathematician and naturalist to embrace fractals, second citizen equations that turned out to be elegant expressions of much of the patterns, sequences, arrangements we can see in molecules, simple life forms, organ systems, complex life forms, environments, ecosystems.... Some of it is user friendly, some needs to be skimmed by those who don't care about the math, but Mandelbrot is supportive of both kinds of readers.
Oct 19, 2009
Valerie
added it
I have to admit that this book has been sitting on my shelves half-read and gathering dust. Mandelbrot's a fairly good speaker (from what I've seen of him on documentaries), but a trying and tedious writer.
If you're looking for pretty pictures of fractals, there are some. If you're looking for the formula for the Mandelbrot set, it's here. If you want to understand the theory behind fractals, this is not the best introduction.
If you're looking for pretty pictures of fractals, there are some. If you're looking for the formula for the Mandelbrot set, it's here. If you want to understand the theory behind fractals, this is not the best introduction.
The complexity of nature as explained by the genius behind the study of fractals. I can never look at a fern leaf the same way again. The illustrations alone in this gem of a book are worth its purchase price. Gaussian curves, the Julia Set, all explained - albeit a little technical for me in many chapters.
Oct 21, 2010
Jim
marked it as to-read
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesig...
RIP. October 14 2010.
RIP. October 14 2010.
Mandlebrot does a good job of writing for both mathematicians and those who simply have a passing interest. He makes it easy to skip over the in-depth mathematical sections whilst still providing solid explanations of the concepts being discussed. I will admit that some of it was way over my head and there were sections that could be quite dry. However, it was thrilling to gain a greater understanding of fractals like the Menger sponge, Koch snowflakes and Cantor Dust along with how they can be...more
Jul 11, 2010
* Thelinker
added it
http://www.ted.com/talks/benoit_mande...
Here he talks at TED
Here he talks at TED
Pretty pictures...ooooo! Oh yeah, and math that fits nature...aaaaah!
"As with Fibonacci numbers, nature holds surprises as fractals"
an immensely pertinent epistemological text..
Feb 07, 2009
Baldwin_tina
is currently reading it
working my way through this book.
May 08, 2012
Ericraquelyahoo.com
added it
This one was over my head.
This book may just provide a hunger in a student to learn more about what fractals are in math. It is something I have studied for quite sometime and I hope to incorporate in my future math classes as a teacher. The images and mathematical properties of fractals are fascinating! Even if someone doesn't understand the mathematics behind fractals they can use technology to create some interesting fractals.
After seeing the author lecture I bought this book, which is completely over my head but illustrated with some of the most beautiful fractal representations I've seen. For anyone interested in fractal geometry, specifically in nature, its a great place to get inspired.
I didn't really read this. More like glance through. I thought it would be a book of pretty pictures of patterns in nature. Its not. It is like a mathmeticians text book. Oops.
Amazing images and a very cool concept, well explained. Fractal make sense out of nature.
Technical and, in fact, not my favorite book on the topic. Nonetheless, sometimes it is good to get your story straight from the horse's mouth.
A classic written by the Father of Fractals.
May 23, 2013
Daniel Ingenpahs
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Benoît B. Mandelbrot was a French mathematician, best known as the father of fractal geometry. He was Sterling Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Emeritus at Yale University; IBM Fellow Emeritus at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center; and Battelle Fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He was born in Poland, but his family moved to France when he was a child; he was a dual French a...more
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