A Summary of The Fractal Geometry of Nature by Benoit B. Madelbrot

Joseph S. Griesbach, Marquette University

Abstract

In The Fractal Geometry of Nature Benoit B. Mandelbrot points out that the shapes and textures of nature do not fit the rigid restrictions of standard Euclidean geometry. Clouds are not ellipsoids, planets are not spheres. Instead, natural systems, from river networks to human bronchial passages, are irregular and of a much higher level of complexity. Likewise, planets, stars and galaxies are not distributed throughout the universe according to any simple patterns.