Chapter 11 could serve as an excerpt from Heller’s masterpiece, Catch-22. Mandelbrot attempts to conform to his military service requirements while the military bureaucracy struggles to make use of a loyal, but atypical, young man.

Best Quote(s)

“A BLESSING THROUGHOUT LIFE: I never wonder who I am. To the contrary, many successive bureaucracies wondered endlessly.” Location 1995

Mandelbroth may have had uncertainty in life as he wandered in pursuit of his ‘Keplerian Dream’ which he would find in his study of roughness, but he knew who he was. He knew he was in pursuit of that goal – even as he knew that the precise goal was not known.

Mandelbrot could tolerate that lack of clarity – and as we’ll see in the chapters about his early family, his wife and children could too. He created a life that let him search for it. Bureaucracies – here the French Air Force, but later IBM – served as stewards of his income, but were themselves confused.

It took a lot of commitment for a young graduate, and later a young father to:

• Admit he did not know the goal with precision.
• Harness the bureaucratic energy of these organizations while it was clear that they were confused about who he was.

Page by Page, Location by Location

Locations 1995

“A BLESSING THROUGHOUT LIFE: I never wonder who I am. To the contrary, many successive bureaucracies wondered endlessly.” Location 1995

2024

Mandelbrot finds himself in a repeated “Catch 22” scenario. No one can believe he has his low rank, and because he has his rank no one will believe his educational background.

“But I don’t. Everything I tell you is absolutely true.”

“If it were true, you would not be drafted as a private in rags, but as an officer giving orders.”

2049

“I became an excellent sharpshooter, a skill I am glad never had to be tested further.”

2061

Mandelbrot’s commander had been told that he would be required to advance his reputation with supersonic flight study in order to make general. He goes to ask the young serviceman for his academic advice, and is met several times with the following response:

“Colonel, this is a good beginning, but more work is needed.”

2068

“À vos ordres, colonel.” I never heard from him, or of him, again.

2097

“I take it upon myself to inform the exit visa people that everything is under control and will be fixed shortly.””