Skip to main content
Read page text
page 6
A Smooth World or a Rough One? Plato sought to explain nature with five regular solid forms. Newton and Kepler bent Plato 's circle into an ellipse. Modern science analysed Plato 's shapes into particles and waves, and generalised the curves of Newton and Kepler to relative probabilities - still without a single "rough edge ". Now, more than two thousand years after Plato, nearly three hundred years after Newton, Benoit Mandelbrot has established a discovery that ranks with the laws of regular motion. Professor Eugene Stanley, Center for Polymer Studies, Department of Physics, Boston University Plato Heisenberg 4 - · · · - ,,- , '• - - - -- · . • -- • .., I , I -- - · - -- .......... ___ · - · ··---·-. · - -·,..: .. !.~- -- .. ----- • -- - ·- - ; ,. :.: ........... -··-······-. . --c·. -:~~~~c;;~::i~";1~-~~~;BJ:~~:r::: ~~ .. ~...,,_,_ ... --\:.:...·_·_-:_·-~ . ... p;o:::m,roo. ·:~:: · : :~···::.?J~~:;};:,;;
page 7
.. to Nor APPEAR IN NATURE. Benoit Mandelbrot The world that we live in is not naturally smooth-edged. The real world has been fashioned with rough edges. Smooth surfaces are the exception in nature. And yet, we have accepted a geometry that only describes shapes rarely - if ever - found in the real world. The geometry of Euclid describes ideal shapes - the sphere, the circle, the cube, the square. Now these shapes do occur in our lives, but they are mostly man-made and not nature-made. 5

Page Text

View plaintext

A Smooth World or a Rough One? Plato sought to explain nature with five regular solid forms. Newton and Kepler bent Plato 's circle into an ellipse. Modern science analysed Plato 's shapes into particles and waves, and generalised the curves of Newton and Kepler to relative probabilities - still without a single "rough edge ". Now, more than two thousand years after Plato, nearly three hundred years after Newton, Benoit Mandelbrot has established a discovery that ranks with the laws of regular motion. Professor Eugene Stanley, Center for Polymer Studies, Department of Physics, Boston University

Plato

Heisenberg

4

- · · · - ,,- , '• - - - -- · . • -- • .., I

,

I

-- - · - -- .......... ___ · - · ··---·-. · - -·,..: .. !.~- -- .. ----- • -- - ·- - ; ,. :.:

........... -··-······-. .

--c·. -:~~~~c;;~::i~";1~-~~~;BJ:~~:r::: ~~ .. ~...,,_,_ ... --\:.:...·_·_-:_·-~ .

...

p;o:::m,roo. ·:~:: · : :~···::.?J~~:;};:,;;

read next page

My Bookmarks

Buy this Book
Skip to main content