FRACTAL GEOMETRY
Charles François (2004). FRACTAL GEOMETRY, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 1327.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1327 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
- “(A geometry) which models the recurrence of similar patterns at different scales which characterizes most natural systems” (F. HEYLIGHEN, 1997, p.33)
Fractal geometry was introduced by the French mathematician Benoit MANDELBROT (1983).
HEYLIGHEN comments: “Such self-similar structures exhibit power laws , like the famous ZIPF Law governing the frequency of words. By studying processes such as avalanches and earthquakes, Per BAK (1988, 1991, 1996) showed that many complex systems will evolve spontaneously toward the critical edge between order (stability) and chaos , where the size of disturbances obeys a power law , larger distributions being less frequent than smaller ones. He calls this phenomenon self-organized criticality ” (Ibid).