Summary

Dazzling computer animation combined with the genius of Benoît Mandelbrot and Edward Lorenz present a captivating discussion of fractals and the fundamental concepts of fractal geometryself-similarity and chaos. Mandelbrot uses a simple head of broccoli to demonstrate the complexity of fractals. Narrating over the three-dimensional animations, Mandelbrot discusses how fractals serve as an excellent model of irregular natural forms, such as coastlines, and how they relieve the scientist of the necessity of describing nature with simple geometric formsclouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones. The world of fractals is revealed, from the depths of the Mandelbrot set, to the Lorenz attractor. (63 minutes)