| The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07. |
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| Mandelbrot, Benoit B. |
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(b nwä´ m n´dlbr ´´, Fr. mäNd lbrô´) (KEY) , 1924–, French mathematician, b. Warsaw, Poland. Largely self-taught and considered a maverick in the field of mathematics, he is uncomfortable with the rigorously pure logical analysis prescribed by Nicolas Bourbaki and relies instead on his talent for visualizing natural phenomena. A pioneer of chaos theory, he conceived, developed, and applied fractal geometry, which is used to find order in apparently erratic shapes and processes. |
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| | | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press. |
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