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#121172 01/24/04 02:21 PM
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Fractal: A form of pun in which a word, as part of another word, lends special significance when the larger word is used.

"He acts as if he had ants in his pants.


#121173 01/24/04 06:47 PM
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I'm confusing this word with another. Isn't there an art-related word that is something like fractal? Must go check...

Yes. I thought it rang a bell. Here's the definition from geometry, and, by extension, you can imagine the kind of art created:

"A fractal is a set which is self-similar; fractals are repetitive in shape, but not in size. In other words, no matter how much you magnify a fractal, it will always look the same (or at least similar)." (Quick definition on onelook.com)


#121174 01/24/04 07:03 PM
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Dear WW: not art, but mathematics, though when printed in
color, they produce striking visual effects. There used to
be a lot of such pictures seven or eight years ago. Maybe some are still available. Here's a URL:
http://kosmoi.com/Science/Mathematics/Fractals/


#121175 01/24/04 07:13 PM
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google Mandelbrot



formerly known as etaoin...
#121176 01/24/04 07:19 PM
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In reply to:

Dear WW: not art, but mathematics


wwh, did you read all of my post above?

I read your word 'fractal' and it rang a bell about a type of art I had seen about a year ago. So, I looked up the word fractal on onelook and there I read the definition applied to geometry. That confirmed my first impression about the art term. There is an art term website on which I first saw fractals. That type of art was derived from the geometry (or to use your term 'mathematics'). I'll see whether I can find the site I had visited a long time ago and pull up the works of art...



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