The Mandelbrot Set

This image is generated from a very simple formula using complex numbers. Because the set of complex numbers, like the real numbers, has infinitely many numbers between any two numbers you might pick -- however close together they might be -- this formula automatically generates an infinite amount of detail within the image.

Put simply, no matter how far you "zoom in," there's always the same amount of apparent detail as with the image at the size you see here (which is not rendered nearly as sharply as it could be).

For a very good look at this amazing complexity, see the famous book by James Gleick, Chaos. It also covers a wide array of fascinating information on complexity found in the apparently chaotic patterns found in nature.

Return to the Overview Page -- or, if you located this page directly, try the Evolution and Philosophy home page.

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