How fractals can help you understand the universe | BBC Ideas

What is a fractal, and how can fractals help us understand the universe? Classic examples of fractals in nature are broccoli and snowflakes. They can offer a fascinating explanation for how the world works!

Written by Brandon Pestano, animated by Christopher Brooks.

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[bbcideas]

Comment below if fractals blow your mind!

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[NatureGloseScience]

I had my educational "revolution" as an educator and learner not in school but in my late 20's when I discovered nature's patterns, including fractals in a Time Life hardback at a book sale in the early 90's. Now, I help my students look for math all around them starting with nature's patterns, including fractals. Why aren't we taught this in schools? Why isn't this the MAIN way we learn maths? I know! I'll do my part and help bring it to the forefront of education starting with the homeschool community this last decade. Thank you for such a beautiful and gorgeously informative video. We're just scratching the surface of how to use fractals. I believe it's the portal for us to have incredible technological advancements and help bring humanity back into harmony with the earth.

[c-fink]

The end of this video absolutely blew my mind. I’m now convinced that the universe is just a part of an infinite fractal. And that there is no end to what everything is made of. But does that mean that every universe is the same? Does that mean they are all similar? Fractals in nature are not 100% exactly the same right?

[casz]

I believe the fractal concept can be applied to every single thing or idea in our reality. If you really think about it you can apply it. If you can't it's probably just because you haven't found a way to figure it out. I've been obsessed with this concept over the last 4 years while learning to trade the markets because it can be applied on the charts.

[alezt]

This shows how massive things like universe come from a very simple thing. Absolutely amazing!

[lusv]

The whole of reality is a fractal. As above so below. There is no such thing as big/small as everything exists inside itself, the only thing that separates us from other dimensions is size and what frequency we are tuned at. Inside atoms there are universe and and our universe is inside something like an atom, ad infinitum

[god]

Then it dawns on you: “Of course, I’m fractal. I am consciousness. I am imagining myself. I am whatever I conceive myself to be because there is nothing outside my endless Mind.”

[aamirbashir]

Surprised to see such a small response to this beautiful video

[enoch]

My schizophrenia hallucinations fascinated me and I found this looking for a visual representation of what I was seeing. Rainbow fractal geometric patterns constantly changing, forming images of objects, faces, alien creatures and intricate designs.
Much like I have heard psychadelics causing very similar images for many who recount what they saw.

[Sabinathor]

I just wrote in the search field ” universe like a fractal”... and pointed me here! The Universe it’s more like a holographic debunking process of a hologram in fact... what we see is just a part of a more complex reality, but the pattern is similar. Fractals and holographic structures do have something in comun: any sub-part contains the the structural pattern (the implicate order) of the whole. Cool. :))

[rykerhall]

New discovery: At the end of a fractal is Shrek....

Shrek is love
Shrek is life
Shrek is the universe

[hugodesrosiers-plaisance]

A fractal isn't infinite if you think of it as bend around a 4th dimension, it becomes a closed cycle. I mean this in the same way that the surface of a sphere is finite, but unbound, in this way also th Universe folds onto itself, finite, but unbound.

[thenerdywalker]

We live in an amazing universe. Thanks for the video

[KizaWittaker]

Gives a new meaning to "being made in the image" of God

[TheGunnCat]

Fractals help me perceive the motivations behind human behavior. It could be a wonderful tool for helping people understand themselves along with psychedelics and psybient music.

[lamtuengo]

I really love videos from BBC.
Thank you so much <3 .

[jimparsons]

Liked the clip. It might very well be that fractals are the mathematical link between the the Quantum Mechanics to that of Classical Mechanics. A sort of shortcut that Einstein and Niels Bohr were on about?

[TonyEnglandUK]

Absolutely fascinating. I truly believe we're at a point in life that humans are about to figure everything out.

[TheCortymast]

Amazing video! What is the background music?

[marcocelentani]

pink floyd in the backgroud are spot on