Benoit Mandelbrot: A turbulent life

Famed mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot passed away last Thursday at the age of 85. Best known for his pioneering work on fractal geometry and influence on chaos theory, Mandelbrot was a rare generalist in an age of academic specialization, with work touching on subjects from physics, to biology, to astronomy. The financial turbulence of recent years ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH CIARDIELLO FOR FP
ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH CIARDIELLO FOR FP
ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH CIARDIELLO FOR FP

Famed mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot passed away last Thursday at the age of 85. Best known for his pioneering work on fractal geometry and influence on chaos theory, Mandelbrot was a rare generalist in an age of academic specialization, with work touching on subjects from physics, to biology, to astronomy. The financial turbulence of recent years rekindled an interest in his studies on financial markets, best explained in the 2006 book "The (Mis)Behavior of Markets."

Famed mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot passed away last Thursday at the age of 85. Best known for his pioneering work on fractal geometry and influence on chaos theory, Mandelbrot was a rare generalist in an age of academic specialization, with work touching on subjects from physics, to biology, to astronomy. The financial turbulence of recent years rekindled an interest in his studies on financial markets, best explained in the 2006 book "The (Mis)Behavior of Markets."

Last year I spoke with Mandelbrot for FP‘s Epiphanies feature: 

I had a very eventful early life. My father’s business in Poland failed during the Great Depression. After we moved to Paris, we had to move again when World War II started, and we settled in a very remote area of France, the equivalent of Appalachia. We were very lucky, but it’s probably not an accident that I became interested in studying turbulence and risk. They were very much a part of my life.

Near the end of the war, the time came for me to take my university exams. Because we kept moving around during the war, I hadn’t really prepared at all. Yet, after taking the exams, I came in first in my class in math. How did I do it? The truth is, I cheated. I hadn’t studied any of the formulas that were on the exam, but I had an understanding of geometry, which helped me get the answers.

Read the rest here.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.