Introduction: Fractal Basics

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

  • Define and identify self-similarity in geometric shapes, plants, and geological formations
  • Generate a fractal shape given an initiator and a generator
  • Scale a geometric object by a specific scaling factor using the scaling dimension relation
  • Determine the fractal dimension of a fractal object

In the 1980’s and 90’s fractals were a popular, household idea.  Their presence in popular culture may have waned in the last 20 years, but their presence in nature, economics, and nearly everything around us has not. In this section, we will introduce some of the fundamental ideas, and terminology that will help you begin to understand the mathematical principles that define fractals.