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Fractals

"Fractals are mathematical constructions of fractal geometry, a relatively new geometric form only discovered/defined in the 1970's by Benoit Mandelbrot who actually coined the term ""fractal"". Previously considered mathematical ""monsters"" fractals were largely ignored by mathematicians as they behaved in ways that were difficult to describe/define, in particular they were ""monster"" curves that were non-differentiable. Benoit Mandelbrot deliberately got a job at IBM in the 1970's so he could gain access to the computing power necessary to study these objects in more detail and since his initial studies Fractal Geometry has become part of every branch of science and given rise to the increasingly popular Fractal Art medium.

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When were fractals discovered?

Benoit Mandelbrot is the man who is usually credited to have discovered fractals in the year 1975. He was the first person to use this word and was also the first man to represent them in visual form. But history also shows that some facts about fractals were known to mathematicians as early as the 17th century.