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Old 19-10-2010, 03:52 PM
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CraigS
Unpredictable

CraigS is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,023
Benoit Madelbrot was a truly amazing mathematician.

I can't quite recall whether it was "The Colours of Infinity" or "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" (by Mandelbrot, himself), or "Chaos" (by James Gleick) where the simple question was posed:

"What is the length of the coastline of England ?"

The answer:

"Infinite length".

An astounding answer … but true, as any coastline is fractal in its nature - self similar at all levels and scale invariant.

Farewell Benoit Mandelbrot .. a true pioneer of Science with profound insights and vision. His gifts to mankind were literally, unfathomable.
(As in beyond measurability).

Cheers
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