What is a fractal, and why does it repeat forever?
Pattern's Echo
What is a fractal, and why does it repeat forever?
You know how sometimes you look at a tree, and each big branch splits into smaller branches, and those split into even smaller ones, and it just keeps going? That's almost a fractal. But a real fractal does something wild: the pattern repeats exactly, perfectly, forever — or at least, it would if you had forever to keep zooming in.
Let's make one. Start with a simple triangle. Now stick three smaller triangles — half the size — onto the middle of each side. You've got a star shape. Already it looks a little spiky and interesting.
