A fractal is "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole,"a property called self-similarity. Roots of mathematical interest in fractals can be traced back to the late 19th Century; however, the term "fractal" was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured." Definition from Wikipedia
"I find the ideas in the fractals, both as a body of knowledge and as a metaphor, an incredibly important way of looking at the world." Vice President Al Gore, New York Times, June 21, 2000.