My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents. Yet when I look back, I see a pattern. - Benoit Mandelbrot

(Since algebra derives from the Arabic jabara = to bind together, fractal and algebra are etymological opposites!)

"In economics, there can never be a "theory of everything." But I believe each attempt comes closer to a proper understanding of how markets behave."

One of my conjectures was solved in six months, a second in five years, a third in ten. But the basic conjecture, despite heroic efforts rewarded by two Fields Medals, remains a conjecture, now called MLC: the Mandelbrot Set is locally connected. The notion that these conjectures might have been reached by pure thought — with no picture — is simply inconceivable.