Category Archives: Mandelbrot

Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist, Chapter 13: Life as a Grad Student and Philips Electronics Employee, 1950–52

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“Unlike Szolem, I enjoy intellectual fencing and occasionally showing off. Otherwise—like Szolem—I absolutely stopped having patience for their games.” Like Tversky and Kahneman – there had to be a base rate. Mandelbrot needed to engage with his peers and barb … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist, Chapter 12 Growing Addiction to Classical Music, Voice, and Opera

Opera and classical music becomes a passion for some – but it has never been so for me. Synthetic, computer generated music on its own has never sounded good to me – but I do like how it can be … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist Chapter 09: A (Then Rare) Foreign Student at the École Polytechnique, 1945–47

As noted in his quote below, Mandelbrot enters Polytechnique literally in rags and is one of the few international students.  He devours the opportunities in front of him, while also realizing that the degree will provide him golden handcuffs that … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot ‘s The Fractalist Chapter 11: French Air Force Engineers Reserve Officer in Training, 1949–50

“A BLESSING THROUGHOUT LIFE: I never wonder who I am. To the contrary, many successive bureaucracies wondered endlessly.” Benoit Mandelbrot, The Fractalist – Location 1995 Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist 10: Pasadena: Student at Caltech During a Golden Age, 1947–49

This chapter documents the many remarkable minds and concepts that Mandelbrot encountered in his studies, all while he was searching for a remarkable topic to develop fully as his own.  His self reflection while wandering in a field of geniuses … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist Chapter 08: Paris: Exam Hell, Agony of Choice, and One Day at the École Normale Supérieure, 1944–45

“Good wine or cheese must not be rushed. So why rush good humans by pressing a cookie cutter on a malleable young mind?” Mandelbrot Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist: Part 1, “How I came to be a Scientist” – Surviving World War 2

Chapter 1 Highlights Mandelbrot’s book tells the story in a fractal nature – bouncing big and small and returning to reinforce important topics.  From this first family photo Mandelbrot introduces us to the adults that shaped his young life, helped … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist 07: Alleluiah! The War Moves Away and a New Life Beckons – Page by Page Review

Locations 1312 – 1347 We wrap up the first part of Mandelbrot’s life – with a wonderful preview of the 2nd and third parts.  The family made a bold bet to split up, and it was truly necessary based on … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist 06: Horse Groom near Pommiers-en-Forez, 1944 – Page by Page Review

Mandelbrot deploys his genius in order to help an aristocrat maintain the family horse farm while a war rages in the background.  Carnegie uses animals to endear the reader to people – and the olfactory descriptions of a young Dr. … Continue reading

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Mandelbrot’s The Fractalist 05: On to Lyon: Tighter Occupation and Self-Discovery, 1943–44 – Page by Page Review

Mandelbrot continued to excel in his studies despite the oppression of the Nazi occupation of France.  He studied shapes, and used the basic of geometry in novel ways to solve problems more fitting for older students. Best Quote(s) “True to … Continue reading

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