Benoit Mandelbrot, Mathematician, Dies at 85

[Posteritatis]

Source: New York Times

Benoît B. Mandelbrot, a maverick mathematician who developed an innovative theory of roughness and applied it to physics, biology, finance and many other fields, died on Thursday in Cambridge, Mass. He was 85.

. . .

Dr. Mandelbrot coined the term “fractal” to refer to a new class of mathematical shapes whose uneven contours could mimic the irregularities found in nature.

“Applied mathematics had been concentrating for a century on phenomena which were smooth, but many things were not like that: the more you blew them up with a microscope the more complexity you found,” said David Mumford, a professor of mathematics at Brown University. “He was one of the primary people who realized these were legitimate objects of study.”

In a seminal book, “The Fractal Geometry of Nature,” published in 1982, Dr. Mandelbrot defended mathematical objects that he said others had dismissed as “monstrous” and “pathological.” Using fractal geometry, he argued, the complex outlines of clouds and coastlines, once considered unmeasurable, could now “be approached in rigorous and vigorous quantitative fashion.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/us/17mandelbrot.html

[mike_c]

1. RIP-- The Fractal Geometry of Nature was a major revelation for me...

...back in the day. Mandelbrot was a giant. :cry:

[glitch]

4. Me as well. Rest in Peace Mr. Mandelbrot, you opened eyes. nt

[ananda]

15. He will always be a giant.

I love fractalism.

[Xipe Totec]

21. And yet, It's Barbara Billingsley's obituary on the Greatest Page

Front and center.

Go figure.

[DeSwiss]

2. K&R

[Warpy]

3. To appreciate who he was and what he did,

watch "The Secret Life of Chaos" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnTH4VSIQZw&feature=player_embedded It's a delight for the eyes as well as the brain.

RIP, Dr. Mandelbrot.

[Beartracks]

27. Wooooow. Thx for that link. n/t

[SpiralHawk]

5. Brilliant man. RIP

[Overseas]

6. K&R ! Loved learning about fractals ! Condolences to his family.

Seems like a wonderful man I'd love to know even more about.

[Cirque du So-What]

7. What is the length of England's shoreline?

It is infinite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Long_Is_the_Coast_of_Britain%3F_Statistical_Self-Similarity_and_Fractional_Dimension

This represents my introduction to his research many years ago. Thank you for challenging my imagination, Dr. Mandelbrot!

[girl gone mad]

8. His work had such an influence on my life..

and virtually every other young mathematician. He started a revolution that is still growing.

He was active in the field, up until a few months ago, at least. I would see him around.

Sad news.

[liberation]

16. Us engineering folk too...

... a chunk of my thesis used some of the math he developed :-(

Really sad, he was quite a creative figure. I enjoyed watching some of his lectures taped by colleagues, he was a very good instructor.

[hedgehog]

9. That only came out in 1982? It seem so obvious and basic

now I would have guessed 1882!

[Old Time Pagan]

11. Not in western society.

rooted, or should I say stuck, in the fantasy of Newtonian physics it required computer technology to take a "simple" idea and give it the necessary reality to be accepted. Eastern religions have been aware of fractals for thousands of years. Just take a look at the carvings on temples in Thailand, fractals weren't anything new to them.

[liberation]

17. ... speaking of "fantasy"

Please.

[Odin2005]

19. LOL, what nonsense.

[Old Time Pagan]

10. Suddenly biology got interesting for me

back in the 80s doing graduate school work, being bored with reductionist biology. Up pops chaos theory and fractals. no more boredom, no more blind acceptance of the reductionist paradigm. The natural world became fascinating and exciting.

Thanks Dr. Mandelbrot

[Poll_Blind]

12. Aside from fractals, Mandlebrot also worked in understanding the banking system and economies.

And what he and his most famous student have to say about the world economy, how it works, and where they think dangers are is as chilling as it is fascinating:

Interview with Benoit Mandelbrot and Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The "Black Swan" theory among many other relevant points about the fragility of the world economy are discussed.

PB

[liberation]

18. Thanks for that link.

I didn't know about Taleb.

[trusty elf]

13. I'm very sorry to hear that.

RIP

[boppers]

14. A giant among men, and an ant amount giants.

I think he would have appreciated that sentiment.

[Xipe Totec]

20. How strange, just today I was looking at another Mandelbrot contribution

We have lost a Great Light.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipf%E2%80%93Mandelbrot_law

[HippieCowgirl]

22. "He'll have a cool tombstone" -My Sweetie n/t

[KossackRealityCheck]

23. Coolest mathematician ever!

Someone upthread was surprised that his fractal theory was popularized around 1982. Iirc, a big part of the development of his theory was enabled by computing which allowed him to visualize these simple repeating equations. I don't think he could have accomplished what he did until the computer revolution had happened.

When I grow plants, I'm now amazed at how the patterns repeat and repeat on larger and larger scale.

[Regret My New Name]

24. A song ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uluZMafXVE

[tridim]

25. Thanks for the mandelbulb Benoit.

http://www.skytopia.com/project/fractal/mandelbulb.html

[PufPuf23]

26. Mandelbrot: A Brilliant and Inspiring Man nt