CHAPTER 5

Introduction to Fractals

Larry S. Liebovitch
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Center for Molecular
Biology and Biotechnology, & Departments of Psychology and
Biomedical Sciences
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
U. S. A.
E-mail: [email protected]
http://walt.ccs.fau.edu/~liebovitch/larry.html

Lina A. Shehadeh
Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
U. S. A.
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

INTRODUCTION
This chapter is a Word version of the PowerPoint presentation
given by Dr. Larry S. Liebovitch at the NSF Nonlinear Methods in
Psychology Workshop, October 24-25, 2003 at George Mason
University, Fairfax, VA. The PowerPoint presentation itself is also
available as a part of this web book. Here the notes which can be seen
on the PowerPoint presentation by using Normal View are presented
as text around their respective PowerPoint slides. The concept here is
to try to reproduce the look and feel of the presentation at the
workshop. Therefore, this is not, and is not meant to be, your usual
print article. The form of the language here is more typical of
spoken, rather than written, English. The form of the graphics is
sparser, larger pictures captioned with larger fonts, that is more typical
of PowerPoint presentations than printed illustrations. We hope that
this experimental format may provide a simpler introduction to fractals
than that of a more formal presentation. We also hope that the
availability of the PowerPoint file will be of use in teaching these
materials and may also serve as a starting point for others to customize
these slides for their own applications.

This chapter is about fractals. Objects in space can have fractal

properties. Time series of values can have fractal properties. Sets of
numbers can have fractal properties. Much of the statistics that you are
familiar with deals with the linear properties of data. Fractals can
help us describe some non-linear properties of data.

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Most data are characterized by the mean and standard deviation, like
45.3 0.3. Youll learn here that if the data are fractal, those means and
standard deviations are meaningless! A pretty basic change in the
simplest way we handle data.

Fractals are important because

they CHANGE the most basic
ways we analyze and understand
experimental data.

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Well start with objects. Lets first see the difference between the non-
fractal and fractal objects.

Properties of Objects
in Space

Non-Fractal and Fractal Objects are different.

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As we enlarge a non-fractal object, no new details appear.

Properties of Objects in Space

Non-Fractal

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But, as we enlarge a fractal object we keep seeing ever smaller pieces.

For example, this series of pictures could show first the inside of the
intestine, then the crypts between the cells, then the microvilli on each
cell. The smaller pieces are copies of the larger pieces. They are not
exact smaller copies, but they are smaller replicas that are kind of like
the larger pieces.

Properties of Objects in Space

Fractal

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A non-fractal object has most pieces that are about the same size.

Properties of Objects in Space

Non - Fractal

Size of Features
1 cm

1 characteristic
scale

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A fractal object has pieces of all different sizes. The variation in the size
of the pieces of fractal objects is much larger than the variation in the
size of the pieces of non-fractal objects. Typically, there are a few big
pieces, some medium-sized pieces, and very many tiny pieces.

Properties of Objects in Space

Fractal
Size of Features
2 cm
1 cm
1/2 cm
1/4 cm

many different scales

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractal objects have interesting properties. Here we describe those

properties very briefly. Then later, we will describe them in more
detail.

Properties of Fractal Objects

Self-Similarity.
The little pieces are smaller copies of the larger pieces.

Scaling.
The values measured depend on the resolution used to
make the measurement.

Statistics.
The average size depends on the resolution used to
make the measurement.

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A tree is fractal. It has a few large branches, some medium-sized

branches, and very many small branches. A tree is self-similar: The
little branches are smaller copies of the larger branches. There is a
scaling: The length and thickness of each branch depends on which
branch we measure. There is no average size of a branch: The greater
the number of smaller branches we include, the smaller is the
average length and thickness.

This tree is from http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/trees23.jpg.

Example of a Fractal
A tree is fractal

from http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/trees23.jpg

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The pattern of lightning in the sky is fractal. It has a few large

branches, some medium-sized branches, and very many small
branches. The lightning pattern is self-similar: The little branches are
smaller copies of the larger branches. There is a scaling: The length of
each branch depends on which branch we measure. There is no
average size of a branch: The greater the number of smaller branches
we include, the smaller is the average length and thickness.

Example of a Fractal
Lightning is fractal

from http://bobqat.com/Mazama/Sky/013.html

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The pattern of clouds in the sky is fractal. They are made up of a few
big clouds, some medium-sized clouds, and very many small clouds.
The cloud pattern is self-similar: The little clouds are smaller copies of
the larger clouds. There is a scaling: The size of each cloud depends
on which cloud we measure. There is no average size of a cloud: The
greater the number of smaller clouds we include, the smaller is the
average size of a cloud.

Example of a Fractal
Clouds are fractal

From http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/cloud-13.jpg

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The pattern of paint colors in a Jackson Pollack painting is fractal. The

pattern is made up of a few big swirls, some medium-sized swirls, and
very many small swirls. The pattern is self-similar: The little swirls are
smaller copies of the larger swirls. There is a scaling: The size of each
swirl depends on which swirl we measure. There is no average size of
a swirl: The greater the number of smaller swirls we include, the
smaller is the average size of a swirl.

Example of a Fractal
A Pollock Painting is Fractal

From R. P. Taylor. 2002. Order in Pollocks Chaos, Sci. Amer. Dec. 2002

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Fractals
Self-Similarity

Self-similarity: Objects or processes whose small pieces resemble the

whole.

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 Introduction to Fractals

The coastline, the fractal border between the land and the sea, has
many bays and peninsulas. As you magnify the coastline you see ever
smaller bays and peninsulas. The structure at a large scale is similar to
the structure at a small scale. It is similar to itself at different scales.
This is called self-similarity.

Self-Similarity
Pieces resemble the
whole.

Water Water Water

Land Land
Land

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This is the Sierpinski Triangle. In this mathematical object each little

piece is an exact smaller copy of the whole object.

Sierpinski Triangle

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The blood vessels in the retina are self-similar. The branching of the
larger vessels is like the branching of the smaller vessels. The airways
in the lung are self-similar. The branching of the larger airways is like
the branching of the smaller airways. In real biological objects like
these, each little piece is not an exact copy of the whole object. It is
kind of like the whole object which is known as statistical self-similarity.

Branching Patterns
blood vessels air ways
in the retina in the lungs
Family, Masters, and Platt 1989 West and Goldberger 1987
Physica D38:98-103 Am. Sci. 75:354-365
Mainster 1990 Eye 4:235-241

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Lets try to understand statistical self-similarity. Here is an

unrealistically simplified picture of the blood vessels in the retina. If
we ask how many vessels are there of each different size we see that
there is one that is 40mm long, two that are 20mm long, four that are
10mm long, and eight that are 5 mm long.

Blood Vessels in the Retina

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 Introduction to Fractals

We can plot how many vessels there are of each size. This is called the
Probability Density Function (PDF). A power law distribution is
evidenced in a straight line on a plot of log (number) vs. log (size).

PDF - Probability Density Function

HOW OFTEN there is THIS SIZE

Straight line on log-log plot

= Power Law

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The PDF of the large vessels is a straight line on a plot of log (number)
vs. log(size). There are a few big-big vessels, many medium-big
vessels, and a huge number of small-big vessels.

The PDF of the small vessels is also a straight line on a plot of

log(Number) vs. Log(size). There are a few big-small vessels, many
medium-small vessels, and a huge number of small-small vessels.

The PDF of the big vessels has the same shape (i.e., is similar to) the
PDF of the small vessels. The PDF is a measure of the statistics of the
vessels. So, the PDF (the statistics) of the large vessels is similar to the
PDF (the statistics) of the small vessels. This is statistical self-similarity.
The small pieces are not exact copies of the large pieces, but the
statistics of the small pieces are similar to the statistics of the large
pieces.

Statistical Self-Similarity
The statistics of the big pieces is the same
as the statistics of the small pieces.

1000 1000
Number SMALL Number BIG
blood blood
100 100
vessels vessels

10 10

1 1
1 10 100 1000 1 10 100 1000

size in m size in mm

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractals are not only objects in space, but can also be processes in
time. There are proteins, called ion channels, in the fatty membranes
of living cells that let ions, like sodium and potassium, enter or exit the
cell.

Fractal Properties in Time: Currents

Through Ion Channels

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A small pipette can suck up a small piece of cell membrane with only
one ion channel in it, and even it tear it off and away from the cell. The
movement of sodium or potassium through the ion channel produces an
electrical current that can be measured. Its a pretty small current, a
picoAmp, which is about one billionth (1/1,000,000,000) of the current
from a D battery. This is called the Patch Clamp. Whats really
interesting is that these ion channel proteins act like little electrical
switches. Either they are either fully open or fully closed to the
movement of sodium or potassium. They switch, all the time, between
these fully open and fully closed states. Its impressive to watch this
technology measure the changes in a single molecule at a time.

Fractal Properties in Time: Currents

Through Ion Channels

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These open and closed times are fractal! If you record them and play
them back slowly you see a sequences of open and closed times. But if
you take one segment of time, and play it back at higher resolution, you
see that it actually consists of many briefer open and closed times. It is
self-similar in time.

Currents Through Ion Channels

ATP sensitive potassium channel in
cell from the pancreas
Gilles, Falke, and Misler (Liebovitch 1990 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 591:375-391)
FC = 10 Hz

5 sec

FC = 1k Hz 5 pA

5 msec

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Here is a histogram of the times (in ms) that one channel was closed.
The recording was made at the fastest time resolution, allowing the
briefest closed times to be recorded. The PDF is mostly a straight line
on this log (number) versus time (t) plot, but with an occasional longer
closed time. Data with fractal properties often have unusual events that
occur more often than expected from the usual Bell Curve. Those
occasional longer closed times are a hint that these data might be
fractal.

Closed Time Histograms

potassium channel in the
corneal endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68
Number
of
closed
Times
per
Time
Bin in
the
Record
Closed Time in ms

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is another histogram of the closed times (in ms) of that same ion
channel. This recording was made at a little slower time resolution and
so longer closed times were recorded. The PDF is mostly a straight line
on this log (number) versus time (t) plot, but with an occasional longer
closed time.

Closed Time Histograms

potassium channel in the
corneal endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68
Number
of
closed
Times
per
Time
Bin in
the
Record
Closed Time in ms

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Here is another histogram of the closed times (in ms) of that same ion
channel. This recording was made at an even slower time resolution
and so even longer closed times were recorded. The PDF is mostly a
straight line on this log (number) versus time (t) plot, but with an
occasional longer closed time.

Closed Time Histograms

potassium channel in the
corneal endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68
Number
of
closed
Times
per
Time
Bin in
the
Record
Closed Time in ms

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is another histogram of the closed times (in ms) of that same ion
channel. This recording was made at a much lower time resolution and
so only the longest closed times were recorded. The PDF is mostly a
straight line on this log (number) versus time (t) plot, but with an
occasional longer closed time. The PDF looks similar at different time
resolutions. The PDF is a measure of the statistics. So, the statistics is
similar to itself at different time resolutions. This is statistical self-
similarity in time.

Closed Time Histograms

potassium channel in the
corneal endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68
Number
of
closed
Times
per
Time
Bin in
the
Record
Closed Time in ms

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Each of those histograms of the closed times is measured at its own time
resolution, the time width of each bin. Wouldnt it be nice to see all
those different time scales at once? We cant do that with a histogram,
but we can covert each histogram into its PDF and then combine those
PDFs. Here is the PDF of all those histograms combined. Now we can
see that there is a simple relationship (red line) between all the
different closed times. Thus, there is a relationship between the closed
times as short as a millisecond and those as long as a second. This
relationship is called a scaling relationship.

Closed Time PDF

potassium channel in the
corneal endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractals
Scaling

Scaling: The value measured depends upon the resolution used to

make the measurement.

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If we measure the length of the west coast of Britain with a large ruler,
we get a certain value for the length of the coastline. If we now
measure it again with a smaller ruler, we catch more of the smaller bays
and peninsulas that we missed before, and so the coastline
measurement is longer. The value we measure for the coastline
depends on the size of the ruler that we use to measure it.

Scaling
The value measured depends
on the resolution used to do
the measurement.

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Here is a plot of how the length of the west coast of Britain depends
upon the resolution that we use to measure it. There is no one value
that best describes the length of the west coast of Britain. It depends
upon the scale (resolution) at which we measure it. As we measure it at
a finer scale, we include the segments of the smaller bays and
peninsulas, and the coastline is longer. This is one of the surprising
way in which fractals change the most basic way that we analyze and
understand our data. There is no one number that best describes the
length of the west coast of Britain. Instead, what is important is how the
length depends upon the resolution that we use to measure it. The
more smaller bays and peninsulas, the more the length of the coast
increases when it is measured at a finer resolution, and the steeper the
slope on this plot. This plot therefore shows that the coast of Britain is
rougher than that of Australia, which is rougher than that of South
Africa, which is rougher than that of a plain circle.

How Long is the Coastline of Britain?

Richardson 1961 The problem of contiguity: An Appendix to Statistics of
Deadly Quarrels General Systems Yearbook 6:139-187
Log10 (Total Length in Km)

AUSTRIA
LIAN CO
AST
4.0
CIRCLE

SOUTH AFRICAN COAST

GERMA
3.5 N LAND
-FRONT
IE R, 1900
WES
T CO
AST
OF B
RITIA
N
3.0
LAND-FR
ONTIER O
F PORTUG
AL
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5
LOG10 (Length of Line Segments in Km)

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Iannaccone and his colleagues study how organisms develop in order

to understand and cure cancer in kids. They mix cells from another
animal into an embryo so that the fate of these marker cells can be
traced out as the animal develops. The cells that are added have a
different enzyme, which attaches to a radioactive marker that blackens
a photographic film to make a picture. On the following page are some
of those pictures of the liver. Look, the added cells are not in one
clump. They are in islands of all different sizes.

There is no one area that best describes the size of these islands. The
area measured depends on the resolution used. This scaling
relationship is a straight line on a plot of log (area) versus log
(resolution).

There is no one perimeter that best describes the size of these islands.
The perimeter measured depends on the resolution used. This scaling
relationship is also a straight line on a plot of log (perimeter) versus log
(resolution).

This is one of the surprising way in which fractals change the most basic
way that we analyze and understand our data. There is no one number
that best describes the area or perimeter of these islands. Instead,
what is important is how the area or perimeter depends upon the
resolution that we use to measure it.

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 Introduction to Fractals

Genetic Mosaics in the Liver

P. M. Iannaccone. 1990. FASEB J. 4:1508-1512.
Y.-K. Ng and P. M. Iannaccone. 1992. Devel. Biol. 151:419-430.

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So far, weve seen fractal scaling in space. There are also fractal
scaling in time. The usual way to measure the switching of an ion
channel is the kinetic rate constant. That tells us the probability that
the ion channel switches between open and closed states. But the ion
channel must be closed (or open) long enough for us to see it as closed
(or open). A more appropriate measure is the probability that the ion
channel switches between open and closed states, given that it has
already remained in a state for a certain amount of time. That certain
amount of time defines the time resolution at which we measure the
switching probability. We called that probability the effective kinetic
rate constant (keff),

keff = Pr (T=t, t+t | T > teff) / t, [5.1]

which is the probability (Pr) for the ion channel to open (or close)
during the time interval T = (t, t+t), given that it has already remained
closed (or open) for a time T teff. In the branch of statistics called
renewal theory, keff is called the age specific failure rate, for
example, the probability that a light bulb fails in the next second given
it has already burned for teff hours. In the branch of statistics used in
epidemiology and insurance, keff is called the survival rate, for
example, the probability that a patient dies of cancer this year, if they
have already had cancer for teff years.

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Fractal Kinetics
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68.

Kinetic Rate Constant:

k = Prob. to change states in the next dt.

Effective Kinetic Rate Constant:

keff = Prob. to change states in the next dt,
given that we have already remained
in the state for a time keff.

age-specific failure rate

keff = Pr ( T=t, t+dt | T > t eff ) / dt
d ln P(t)
=
dt
P(t) = cumulative dwell time distribution

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We measured the open and closed times for an ion channel in the cells
in the cornea, the clear part in the front of the eye that you look through
to see these words. The effective kinetic rate constant is a straight line
on a plot of log (effective kinetic rate constant) versus log (effective
time used to measure it). This is a fractal scaling relationship in time.
The faster we could look, the briefer open and closed times we would
see.

70 pS K+ Channel
Corneal Endothelium
Liebovitch et al. 1987 Math. Biosci. 84:37-68.

1000
effective 1-D
kinetic keff = A t eff
rate 100
constant
keff in Hz
10

1
1 10 100 1000
effective time scale
teff in msec

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractals have given us a new way to analyze data from the patch clamp
measurements of the open and closed times of ion channels. Instead of
measuring a property (the kinetic rate constant) at one time scale, we
measure how a property (the effective kinetic rate constant) changes
when we measure it at different time scales. We have been using the
information in this fractal scaling relationship to give us clues about the
structure and motions in ion channel protein. Specifically, we have
been using the scaling relationship to calculate the energy difference
between the open and closed states of the ion channel protein and how
that energy difference varies in time. The picture of ion channels
before fractals analysis was that they are firm, sharp, uptight things that
go click, click, click, between a few, very different static states. The
picture of ion channels after fractal analysis is that they are complex
dynamic things, with many pieces of different size that move over
different time scales, whose new shapes and movements determine
what its going to do next.
Fractal Approach
Liebovitch 1989 Math. Biosci. 93:97-115.
Liebovitch and Tth 1991 Bull. Math. Biol. 53:443-455.
Liebovitch et al. 2001 Methods 24:359-375.

New viewpoint:
Analyze how a property, the effective kinetic
rate constant, keff, depends on the effective
time scale, teff, at which it is measured.

This Scaling Relationship:

We are using this to learn about the structure
and motions in the ion channel protein.

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

We have seen examples of scaling relationships for measurements in

space and time. There can also be scaling relationships for the
correlations between measurements. Like the scaling relationships for
measurements, the scaling relationship for the correlations between the
measurements is often a power law, that is, a straight line on a
logarithmic-logarithmic plot. For example, at the left in the figure on
the following page is a measurement in time. It is self-similarthere
are ever larger fluctuations over ever longer times. We can measure
the dispersion, the variation in the value, over different windows of
time. The dispersion is ever larger over ever longer time windows.
The slope of this scaling relationship on a plot of log (dispersion) versus
log(window size) is called the Hurst Exponent, H. When H = 0.5, the
measurements are not correlated. When H > 0.5, the measurements
are positively correlated. This is called persistence. An increase now
is more likely followed by an increase at all time scales later. When H
< 0.5, the measurements are negatively correlated. This is called anti-
persistence. An increase now is more likely followed by a decrease at
all time scales later. There are many different ways to find the
correlational scaling relationship. One method is the Hurst Rescaled
Range Analysis. Another method is Detrended Fluctuation Analysis.

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 Introduction to Fractals

Correlations
H > 1/2
persistent
H = 1/2
no correlation

log (dispersion)

H < 1/2
dispersion 3
dispersion 2
dispersion 1

anti-persistent

window 1
window 2
window 3

log (window size)

Measures of disperson:
Hurst Rescaled Range Analysis: R/S
Detrended Fluctuation Analysis: DFA

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

On the left, the Hurst rescaled range analysis was used to measure the
correlations in the open and closed times of an ion channel protein
(open circles). At short times, H = 0.6, and at along times H = 0.9.
These are very persistent correlations. The correlations disappear
(black circles) when the order of the open and closed times was
randomly shuffled. This means that there is a long term memory,
which gets stronger with time, in how the shape of the ion channel
protein changes in time. Previous models of ion channels, as shown on
the right, assumed that the channel switched between a few, discrete
shapes, without any memory. This fractal analysis tells us that ion
channels do not behave that way. Instead, the fractal analysis has
enabled us to see that there are important, continuous dynamical
processes, with memory, going on inside the ion channel protein.

Fractal Kinetics
Kochetkov, et al. 1999. J. Biol. Phys. 25:211-222.

Data H = 0.9
8-state Markovian Model
Ca++ Ca++ Ca++ Ca++
C8 C7 C6 C5 C4
Ca++ Ca++
H = 0.6 C3 C2 C1

H = 0.5
a process with memory memoryless

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here, the detrended fluctuation analysis was used to measure the

correlations in the time between footsteps. This scaling relationship is
also a power law, a straight line on a logarithmic-logarithmic plot. The
scaling exponent of that power law is different for the young and the
elderly person. These studies have given us insight into how the brain
controls coordination and walking, and how that control depends on
age and is changed by disease.

Fractal Walking
Hausdorff et al. 1997. J. Appl. Physiol. 82:262-269.

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

This is the take-home lesson: We are used to thinking that there is one
measurement that best describes a property of an object. For a fractal
object that extends over many scales, in space or time, a property
depends on the scale at which it is measured. There is no one
measurement that best describes the object. The object is best
described by how the property measured depends upon the resolution
at which it is measured. This relationship is characterized by a
parameter called the fractal dimension. The fractal dimension can be
calculated from the slope of this logarithmic-logarithmic graph.

Scaling
one measurement: scaling relationship:
not so interesting much more
interesting
the measuremnt
the measuremnt

Logarithm of
Logarithm of

one slope
value

Logarithm of the Logarithm of the

resolution used to make resolution used to make
the measurement the measurement

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractals
Statistics

Fractals have some unique statistical properties. The average size

depends on the resolution used to make the measurement. What is
important is not the average, but how the average depends on the
resolution used to make the measurement.

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Here is a set of numbers; maybe they are the values measured from an
experiment. I have drawn a circle to represent each number. The
diameter of the circle is proportional to the magnitude of the number.
Here is a non-fractal set of numbers. Most of them are about the size of
an average number. A few are a bit smaller than the average. A few
are bit larger than the average.

Not Fractal

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is the PDF of theoe non-fractal numbers. The PDF is how many
numbers there are of each size. The PDF here is called a Bell Curve,
a Gaussian Distribution, or a Normal Distribution. Its strange that
someone chose to call this a normal distribution. We are about to see
that much of the world is definitely not like this kind of normal.

Not Fractal

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Here is a picture of Gauss on the old 10 Deustche Mark German bill. He

has now been replaced by the 5 Euro. You can see his curve and even
the equation for it on this bill! There are no equations on American
money. (There is a scientist on American money. Do you know who it
is?)

Gaussian
Bell Curve
Normal Distribution

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Here is a set of numbers from a fractal distribution. The diameter of

each circle is proportional to the size of the number. These numbers
could be from the room around you. Look around your room. There
are few big things (people and chairs), many medium-sized things
(pens and coins), and a huge number of tiny things (dust and bacteria).
It is not at all like that Normal distribution. Sets of data from many
things in the real world are just like this. We call this a fractal
distribution of numbers because it has the same statistical properties as
the sizes of the pieces in fractal objects.

Fractal

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Here is the PDF of these fractal numbers. The PDF is how many
numbers there are of each size. There are a few big numbers, many
medium sized numbers, and a huge amount of tiny numbers. The PDF
is a straight line on a plot of log(How Many Numbers; the PDF) versus
log(value of the numbers).

Fractal

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 Introduction to Fractals

The statistics of a fractal set of numbers is very different from the

statistics of normal numbers that they taught you about in Statistics
101. The statistics you learned in Statistics 101 is only about non-fractal
numbers. Take the average of a sample of non-fractal numbers. This is
called the Sample Mean. As you include ever more data, the sample
means, shown here as , get ever closer to one value. We call that
value the Population Mean, shown here as pop. We think that the
population mean is the real value of the mean.

Non - Fractal
Mean

pop

More Data

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

The statistics of fractal numbers is very different. Take the average of a

sample of fractal numbers. This is called the Sample Mean. As you
include ever more data, the sample means do NOT get ever closer to
one value. Either the sample means keep increasing OR the sample
means keep decreasing as you include more data. THERE IS NO
Population Mean. There is NO one value that best describes the data.
The data extend over a range of many different values.

The Average Depends on the

Amount of Data Analyzed

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is why that happens. Again, here is a set of fractal numbers. The
diameter of the circles are proportional to the size of the numbers. As
you include ever more numbers one of two things will happen:

1. If there is an excess of many small values, the sample means

get smaller and smaller.

2. If there is an excess of a few big values, the sample means get

larger and larger

Whether 1 or 2 happens depends on the ratio of the amount of small

numbers to the amount of big numbers. That ratio is characterized by a
parameter called the Fractal Dimension.

The Average Depends on the

Amount of Data Analyzed
each piece

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Lets play a non-fractal game of chance. Toss a coin, if it comes up tails

we win nothing, if it comes up heads we win $1. The average winnings
are the probability of each outcome times how much we win on that
outcome. The average winnings are (1/2) x ($0) + (1/2) x ($1) = 50.
Lets go to a fair casino to play this game. Fair casinos exist only in
math textbooks; fair means the bank is willing only to break even and
not make a profit. We and the casino think its fair for us to be charged
50 to play one game. That seems reasonable; half the time we win
nothing, half the time we win $1, so if it costs 50 to play each time, on
average, we and the casino will break even.

Ordinary Coin Toss

Toss a coin. If it is tails win
$0, If it is heads win $1.

The average winnings are:

2-1.1 = 0.5
1/2
Non-Fractal

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is the PDF of that non-fractal game of chance. It shows how often
(the PDF on the vertical axis) you will win how much money (the x value
on the horizontal axis) if you play 100 times. Its a Bell Curvea
Gaussian, Normal distributionjust the kind of distribution they taught
you about in Statistics 101.

Ordinary Coin Toss

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Heres what happens when I played that non-fractal game, over and
over again. A computer (actually a Macintosh Plus running Microsoft
BASIC!) picked a random number to simulate flipping the coin. Here,
the average winnings per game is shown after n games. For a while I
(the Mac) was lucky. I was winning more than an average 50 in each
game. But, as you might suspect (this is called the Law of Large
Numbers), after a while my luck ran out. In the long run, I was winning
exactly an average of 50 in each game.

Ordinary Coin Toss

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 Introduction to Fractals

Now, lets play a fractal game of chance. This game was invented by
Niklaus Bernoulli who lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was
published by his uncle Daniel Bernoulli who lived in Germany, about
350 years ago. Here, we toss a coin UNTIL it comes up heads. If it
comes up heads on the first toss, we win $2. If it comes up tails first,
and then heads on the second toss, we win $4. If it comes up tails twice,
and then heads on the third toss, we win $8. And so on.

The average winnings are the probability of each outcome times how
much we win on that outcome. The average winnings are (1/2) ($2) +
(1/4) ($4) + (1/8) ($8) + (1/16) ($16) + . = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = .
We say to the casino, Half the time well win $2; the median winnings
of this game is $2 because half the time the coin comes up heads on
the first toss and we win $2. So, we think it is very fair to put up twice
the median winnings, $4, to play each game. To our surprise, the now
angry casino owner says, No! He adds, The average winnings of this
game are infinite, you must put up more than all the money in the
universe to play this game, even once!

This game became known as the St. Petersburg Paradox, because we

and the casino cannot agree on the fee to play this game. It was called
a paradox because it was so surprising, and difficult for many people
to believe, that the player and the casino owner could disagree on what
is fair for such a simple game. This game is well known amongst
mathematicians, which means its well known amongst the people who
know it well. But, because of its unusually mathematical character, it
was not one of the threads of probability theory that was woven into the

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

fabric of statistics that became popular in the natural sciences and that
is taught in Statistics 101. Now, with the popularity of fractals, it is being
rediscovered and its importance in analyzing and understanding real
data increasingly appreciated.

St. Petersburg Game (Niklaus

Bernoulli)
Toss a coin. If it is heads win $2,
if not, keep tossing it until it
H $2
falls heads. TH $4
If this occurs on the N-th toss TTH $8
we win $2N. TTTH $16

With probability 2-N we win $2N.

The average winnings are:
2 2 + 2-222 + 2-323 + . . . =
-1 1

1 + 1 + 1 + ... = Fractal

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is the PDF of that fractal game of chance. It shows how often (the
PDF on the vertical axis) you will win how much money (the x value on
the horizontal axis). Its NOT a Bell Curve, Gaussian, or Normal
distribution. Most often you win only a small amount, more often you
win a bigger amount, very rarely you win a huge amount. It is just like
the fractal PDF of the blood vessels in the retina, or any fractal object! It
is a straight line on a plot of log (How Often) versus log(How Much).

St. Petersburg Game (Niklaus

Bernoulli)

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Heres what happens when I played that fractal game over and over
again. Here, the average winnings per game is shown after n games.
The more I played, the more often there was sometimes a lot of tails
before that first head. When there are a lot of those tails, I won a huge
jackpot. As more and more of those jackpots happened, the average
winnings per game kept increasing. There is no average (population
mean) for this game. The more I played, the more the average kept
changing. They told you in Statistics 101 that the more data you have,
the closer the sample means are to the population mean. Not here!
There is no population mean. The more data we have (the more games
I played) the more the sample means keep changing. The few
exponentially large wins keep pushing the sample mean up, which is
very different than what you learned in Statistics 101. Welcome to
fractals.

St. Petersburg Game (Niklaus

Bernoulli)

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 Introduction to Fractals

Here is a non-fractal object. It is a checkerboard. Actually, Im only

showing you a piece of it; it should really extend forever in each
direction. Place a circle on it. Count all the black pixels in that circle,
and divide by the total number of pixels. That is the average density
within that circle. The graph shows how that density changes as the
circles get bigger and bigger. The average density fluctuates a bit;
after all, we are putting a round circle over a square grid. But, as the
circles get bigger and bigger, the average density gets closer and
closer to 1/2. This seems reasonable because the checkerboard is 1/2
black and 1/2 white.

Non-Fractal
Log avg
density within
radius r

Log radius r

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

The figure on the next page is a fractal object. It is called a Diffusion

Limited Aggregation (DLA). It is statistically self-similar. It has little
spaces between its little arms, medium spaces between its medium-
sized arms, and large spaces between its large arms. Were only
showing you a piece of it, but it should also really extend forever in
each direction. Place a circle on it. Count all the black pixels in that
circle, and divide by the total number of pixels. That gives the average
density within that circle. The graph shows how that density changes as
the circles get bigger and bigger. As the circles get bigger we catch
more of the ever larger spaces between the arms, and so the density
gets smaller. As the circles get ever bigger, the density gets ever
smaller. There is no one density that describes this object. Whats
more, the local density on a big arm is very high. The local density
between big arms is very low. Yet, the same mechanism makes the
arms and the spaces between them. Based upon our Statistics 101
training, we are used to thinking that when the local average changes,
when there is a difference in the mean value between an experiment
and a control, or between now and then, that the system must have
changed. Here, fractals, with infinite variance, have moments, such as
the mean, that can be very different in space and time or between
experiments and controls, even though the basic process has not
changed at all!

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 Introduction to Fractals

Fractal
Meakin 1986 In On Growthand Form: Fractal and Non-Fractal Patterns in
Physics Ed. Stanley & Ostrowsky, Martinus Nijoff Pub., pp. 111-135
Log avg
density within radius r
0
.5

-1.0

-1.5

-2.0

-2.5
0 .5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0

Log radius r

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Here is yet another example of fractal data. Data from many

experiments have fractal properties. Here are the action potentials, the
little electrical sparks, that encode information sent down the nerves in
your body. Teich et al. measured them in the auditory nerve, which
brings information about sounds from your ear to your brain.

Electrical Activity of Auditory Nerve

Cells
Teich, Jonson, Kumar, and Turcott 1990 Hearing Res. 46:41-52

voltage action potentials

time

239
 Introduction to Fractals

They divided the time record into windows and counted the number of
action potentials in each window. Here, two in the first window, six in
the second, and so on. The firing rate is the number of action
potentials in each window, divided by the time duration of that window.

Electrical Activity of Auditory Nerve

Cells
Teich, Jonson, Kumar, and Turcott 1990 Hearing Res. 46:41-52

Divide the record into time windows:

Count the number of action potentials in
each window:

2 6 3 1 5 1
Firing Rate = 2, 6, 3, 1, 5,1

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Here they made the windows twice as long in time, and counted the
number of action potentials in each window. Again, the firing rate is
the number of action potentials in each window, divided by the time
duration of that window.

Electrical Activity of Auditory Nerve

Cells
Teich, Johnson, Kumar, and Turcott 1990 Hearing
Res. 46:41-52

Repeat for different lengths of

time windows:

8 4 6
Firing Rate = 8, 4, 6

241
 Introduction to Fractals

In Statistics 101 they taught you that as you collect more data, the
fluctuations average out. You were taught to expect that the fluctuations
in the firing rate should be less as the time windows get longer. But
look herethe variations dont change much as the time windows go
from 0.5 s to 5.0 s to 50.0 s! [Actually, the real deal here is that the
variance of the fluctuations falls much slower than 1/sqrt(n)]. You
include more data, but you dont get any closer to the real firing rate.
There is no one single value, like a population mean, that best
describes the firing rate. The increase in variation at longer time
windows is real. It represents correlations in the action potentials
which may tell how information is encoded in the timing of the action
potentials.

Electrical Activity of Auditory Nerve Cells

Teich, Jonson, Kumar, and Turcott 1990 Hearing Res. 46:41-52

150
140 The
130
T = 50.0 sec T = 5.0 sec variation
in the
FIRING RATE

120
110
firing rate
100
does not
90
decrease
at longer
80
time
70 T = 0.5 sec
windows.
60
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28
SAMPLE NUMBER (each of duration T sec)

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Fractals
Power Law PDFs

PDFs: Fractal data have a characteristic PDF form called a Power Law.

243
 Introduction to Fractals

These are electrocardiograms (EKGs) that record the voltage from the
heart. The first chart strip shows a normal heart. The second chart strip
shows a heart that is beating dangerously fast (ventricular tachycardia).
This is dangerous because it can lead to ventricular fibrillation, where
the heart no longer contracts in a regular way and can result in death in
3 minutes.

Heart Rhythms

244
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

To prevent ventricular tachycardia from leading to fibrillation and

death, a small device called a cardioverter defibrillator can be
placed just under the skin in the chest. Small wires are snaked around
through the blood vessels into the heart. It listens, electronically,
carefully to the heartbeat. When the heart beats 3 times its normal rate
for 5 beats, it sends an electrical shock strong enough to kick the heart
back into a normal rhythm. But, its also a computer, with a small
memory. It can remember when it is triggered. Back in the hospital, a
small coil is placed on the patients chest. Over this radio link, the
cardioverter defibrillator can play back when it was triggered. We
have been analyzing the times between when the device was
triggered. Just to be clear, we are not analyzing the time between
heartbeats. We are analyzing the durations between consecutive
triggerings of the cardioverter defibrillator.

Inter-event Times
Liebovitch et al. 1999 Phys. Rev. E59:3312-3319.

Cardioverter Defibrillator

Episodes of Ventricular
Tachycardia (v-tach)

t1 t2 t3 t4 t5

time ->

245
 Introduction to Fractals

Here, from one patient, is the relative frequency, the number of

occurrences of a given duration between the defibrillator events. The
PDF is proportional to the relative frequency. The plot is a straight line
on a log (how often) versus log (time between events) scale. This is
fractal scaling. The events of rapid heart rate happen with a fractal
timing.

Patient #33
6
10

5
Relative Frequency =
10
(9.8581) Interval-1.0988
4
10
Relative
Frequency 10
3

2
10

1
10

0
10

-1
10

-2
10

-3
10

-4
10

-5
10
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Interval (in days)

246
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Here again, from another patient, is the relative frequency. The PDF is
proportional to the relative frequency. The plot is also a straight line on
a log (how often) versus log(time between events) scale. This is also
fractal scaling. The events of rapid heart rate for this patient also
happen with a fractal timing.

Patient #53
6
10

5
Relative Frequency =
10
(3.2545) Interval-1.3664
4
10
Relative
Frequency 10
3

2
10

1
10

0
10

-1
10

-2
10

-3
10

-4
10

-5
10
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Interval (in days)

247
 Introduction to Fractals

In fact, for many patients events of ventricular tachycardia happen with

a fractal pattern. Most of the times between events are short,
sometimes they are longer, and very rarely they are very long, which is
typical of fractals. There is no average time between events. If you
measured the average rate of events you would get a different
answer if you measured them over a day or a week or a year. There is
no one number that best describes the time between these events. The
time between events happens over many different time scales. We are
working on other ways, fractal ways, of characterizing these times to
assess the status of patients and the effectiveness of medical therapies.
For example, we are seeing whether the slope or intercept of these
PDFs is a good indicator of diagnosis or treatment outcome.

6 Patients
Liebovitch et al. 1999 Phys. Rev. E59:3312-3319.

248
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

We are also analyzing the times at which different e-mail viruses arrive
at the gateway into an internet service provider. On the picture on the
following page are the eventsthe arrival times of e-mail viruses. We
are looking at the duration of times between the arrival of each virus.
We have studied 4 viruses:

1. AnnaKournikova doesnt have a picture of her, its a file that

you wouldnt want to open.

2. Magistr can erase sectors on your hard disk or your

cmos/bios. If you dont know what the cmos/bios is, you dont
want us to tell you what happens if it gets erased.

3. Klez puts together messages by joining fragments of phrases

that it contains.

4. Sircam tempts you to open and execute its attached file.

Much is known about the structure of the Internet. Less is known about
the dynamics of the Internet. The arrival times of these viruses depend
on both the structure and dynamics of the Internet. We are hoping that
our study of these arrival times will tell us how the structure interacts
with the dynamics if the Internet.

249
 Introduction to Fractals

Inter-arrival Times of E-mail Viruses

Liebovitch and Schwartz 2003 Phys. Rev. E68:017101.

t1 t2 t3 t4 t5

time ->

AnnaKournikova
"Hi: Check This! AnnaKournikova.jpg vbs.

Magistr
Subject, body, attachment from other files: erase disk, cmos/bios.

Klez
E-mail from its own phrases: infect by just viewing in Outlook Express.

Sircam
I send you this file in order to have your advice.

250
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

We have data, unfortunately, from many, many virus events. Here are
the PDFs from AnnaKournikova and Magistr, how often the different
times between the arrivals occurred. These plots are straight lines on a
log (how often) versus log(time between arrivals) scale. These are
fractal scalings. The arrival of these viruses happens with a fractal
timing.

E-mail Viruses
Liebovitch and Schwartz 2003 Phys. Rev. E68:017101.

10 2 10 2
AnnaKournikova Magistr.b
PDF
10
1 PDF
10
1
d=1.51 d=3.19
0 0
10 10

-1 -1
10 10

-2 -2
10 10

-3 -3
10 10

-4 -4
10 10

-5 -5
10 10
10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 10 0 10 1
Interval Interval

20,884 viruses 153,519 viruses

251
 Introduction to Fractals

Here are the PDFs from Klez and Sircam, how often the different times
between the arrivals occurred. These plots are also straight lines on a
log (How Often) versus log(time between arrivals) scale. These are
also fractal scalings. The arrival of these viruses also happens with a
fractal timing.

E-mail Viruses
Liebovitch and Schwartz 2003 Phys. Rev. E68:017101.
2 2
10 10
Klez.e Sircam.a
PDF
10
1 PDF
10
1
d=2.40 d=2.96
0 0
10 10

-1 -1
10 10

-2 -2
10 10

-3 -3
10 10

-4 -4
10 10

-5 -5
10 10
10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 -3 10 -2 10 -1 10 0 10 1
Interval Interval

413,183 viruses 781,626 viruses

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

We made a simple model to study how the structure and the dynamics
of the Internet are interrelated.

Structure: There are networks of computers of different sizes.

Dynamics: When each network sends out viruses, the number
and time between them depend on the size of the network.

Model: Structure + Dynamics

Liebovitch and Schwartz 2003 Phys. Rev. E68:017101.

Structure
K n(k) = k-a units of size k

Dynamics
In one burst:
e(k) = kb viruses

time
t(k) = k-c apart

253
 Introduction to Fractals

There were some interesting results from these models. First, the
model predicts a power law distribution in the PDF of the times
between the arrival of the viruses. Second, the exponent of that power
law tells us whether relatively more viruses are sent from the small
number of larger networks or the larger number of small networks.

Model: Results
PDF(t) = t-d

where d = 1 - a/c + b/c

The relative number of viruses from all units of size k ~ kb-a

d = 1 - a/c + b/c (b-a) = c (d-1)

When d > 1: (b-a) > 0,

relatively more viruses come from the larger units,
as seen in the data.

When d < 1: (b-a) < 0,

relatively more viruses come from the smaller units.

254
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Fractals
Methods for Determining
the PDFs

The PDF is an important tool in determining if experimental data have

fractal properties. A power law PDF is characteristic of fractal
behavior. The standard method for evaluating the PDF is to make a
histogram of the data. That method is very good at determining the
PDF when the data are not fractal. It is less good at determining the
PDF when the data are fractal. Next, well see other ways of
determining the PDF, and how they compare to the histogram method.

255
 Introduction to Fractals

Its not so easy to make a good PDF from the histogram of How Many
events there are in each time bin. If we choose the bins narrow, we get
good resolution for the small events. But, at long times, because the
bins are so narrow, we may see only 1 or 2 events, or even 0 events, in
some of those bins. If we try to fix this by making the bins wider, we do
get more events in the bins at longer times. But, at short times, we now
have poor resolution.

Determining the PDF

from a Histogram

Bins dt Small
PDF
Good at small t.
BAD at large t.

Bins dt Large
BAD at small t.
PDF
Good at large t.

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

We figured out a nice algorithm to get a better PDF. Narrow bins are
good at short times. Wide bins are good at long times. So, we make
histograms of different bin sizes. But, we cannot combine histograms of
different bin sizes. However, we can compute the PDF from each
histogram and then combine the PDFs. For each histogram, the PDF(t)
is N(t), the number of values in the bin that covers (t, t+dt), divided by
Nt, the total number of values in that histogram, divided by dt, the width
of the bins in that histogram. The histograms with narrow bins give us
good resolution in the PDF at short times. The histograms with wide
bins give us good values in the PDF at long times. Weve found that this
method yields accurate and reliable PDFs for tails of many different
kinds of distributions. See Liebovitch et al. 1999 for details.

Determining the PDF

Liebovitch et al. 1999 Phys. Rev. E59:3312-3319.

Solution:
Make ONE PDF
From SEVERAL Histograms of DIFFERENT Bin Size

N(t) N(t) = number in [t, t+dt]

PDF =
Ntotdt Ntot = total number in each histogram
dt = bin size

Choose dt = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 seconds

257
 Introduction to Fractals

Here, PDFs were measured from a set of fractal data. The red boxes
indicate the PDF made in the usual way from one histogram. You can
see where there are only 1 or 2 events in the largest bins. The black
boxes indicate the PDF generated from the same data using the new
multi-histogram method to make the PDF. Pretty impressive difference.

Determining the PDF

10 1

PDF
0
10

10 -1

New multi-histogram
10 -2

Standard fixed dt 10 -3

10 -4

10 -5

10 -6
10 -2 10 -1 10 0 10 1 10 2 10 3 10 4

Values

258
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Fractals
Summary

259
 Introduction to Fractals

SELF-SIMILARITY
Definition: Pieces of an object in space, or parts of a process in time, are
smaller versions of the whole object or process.

Examples: The Sierpinski Triangle in space and the times between the
arrival of e-mail viruses.

Methods: A power law distribution of the PDF of the pieces of an object

in space or the parts of a process in time is indicative of fractal
behavior.

Importance for data analysis: There is no single scale, in space or time,

that characterizes such data that extends over many scales.

Summary
Summary of
of Fractal
Fractal Properties
Properties

Self-Similarity
Pieces resemble the
whole.

260
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

SCALING
Definition: The value measured for a property depends on the scale, in
space or time, over which it is measured.

Examples: The length of the west coast of Britain and the closed times of
ion channel proteins in the cell membrane.

Methods: A power law scaling of the measured values or the correlation

between the measured values is indicative of fractal scaling behavior.

Importance for data analysis: Since no one value properly characterizes

the data, what is important is how the value measured depends on the
resolution used to make the measurement.

Summary
Summary of
of Fractal
Fractal Properties
Properties

Scaling
The value measured
depends on the
resolution.

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 Introduction to Fractals

STATISTICS
Definition: The PDF is a power law. The population mean and
population standard deviation dont exist.

Examples: The winnings in the St. Petersburg game and the variation in
the times between action potentials recorded from auditory nerve cells
in the ear.

Methods: A power law distribution of the PDF or a power law scaling

relationship for the moments is indicative of fractal behavior.

Importance for data analysis: When the mean depends on the spatial
scale, the temporal scale, or how much data we analyze, then the mean
is meaningless. What is meaningful is how the sample means, or
another scaling property, depend on the spatial scale, the temporal
scale, or how much data we analyze, which is described by the fractal
dimension.

Summary
Summary of
of Fractal
Fractal Properties
Properties

Statistical Properties
Moments may be zero
or infinite.

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Liebovitch & Shehadeh

Probability theory started from solving gambling problems about 400

years ago. About 200 years ago, those results were used to develop
basic statistics. Most of the statistical tests we use were developed less
than 100 years ago. We show you this to emphasize that statistics is
NOT a dead science, although its often presented like that in Statistics
101. It has changed a lot. It is still changing. It will change even more
in the future. The statistical properties of fractals are examples of new
ideas that are now being incorporated into and are changing statistics.

Statistics is NOT a dead science.

400 years ago:
Gambling Problems Probability Theory

200 years ago:

Statistics How we do experiments.

100 years ago:

Students t-test, F-test, ANOVA

Now:
Still changing

263
 Introduction to Fractals

The take-home lesson here is not that fractals some arcane super-
sophisticated mathematical tool that only needs to be used in some
strange circumstance. Fractals change the most basic way we look at
experimental data. They allow us to analyze and make sense out of the
huge amount of real data that just aint a bell curve. The most
common use of mathematics and statistics in all science is means
s.e.m. Fractals tell us that if the data are fractal, those means are
meaningless! Thats a pretty basic change in the simplest way we
handle data. Thats what revolutions in science are aboutnot about
changing the complex stuff, but about changing the simplest stuff. The
stuff that we were taught so firmly that we never thought it would
change.

Fractals CHANGE the most basic ways we

analyze and understand experimental data.

No Bell Curves
Fractals No Moments
No mean s.e.m.

Measurements over many scales.

What is real is not one number, but how the measured

values change with the scale at which they are measured
(fractal dimension).

264
Liebovitch & Shehadeh

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FRACTALS

1. A book called Fractals and Chaos Simplified for the Life Sciences
(Liebovitch, 1998). This book consists of facing pages, where the left
page is text and the right page is a picture. It leads you, one concept at
a time, through the material.

2. A CD-ROM of curricula materials for a mathematics course for

college students who never liked and never did well in math (funded,
in part, by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate
Education). The materials emphasize what mathematics is, how
mathematicians do mathematics, and how mathematics is used in
science. Were almost finished with it and would be happy to send you
a free demo (contact information is on the first page of this chapter).
References:
References:
Fractals and Chaos and
Simplified for the Life
Sciences
Larry S. Liebovitch
Oxford Univ. Press, 1998

The Mathematics and

CD ROM Science of Fractals
NSF Larry S. Liebovitch and
DUE-9752226
DUE-9980715 Lina Shehadeh
www.ccs.fau.edu/~liebovitch/
larry.html

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 Introduction to Fractals

We have concentrated here (and in the references noted on the

previous page) on providing an introduction to fractal concepts, their
importance, and what can be learned from them. Here are some books
that describe the mathematical details of these methods and give
examples of how scientists have used them.

Technical Details

J. Feder. 1988. Fractals. Plenum Press.t.

J. B. Bassingthwaighte, L. S. Liebovitch and B. J. West.

1994. Fractal Physiology. Oxford University Press.

P. M. Iannaccone and M. Khokha. 1996. Fractal

Geometry in Biological Systems. CRC Press.

A. Bunde and S. Havlin, eds. 1994. Fractals in

Science. Springer-Verlag.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The development of some of these materials was supported, in part, by
NSF grants DUE-9752226 and DUE-9980715.

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