The shapes created by fractal geometry are infinitely repeating shapes that compose a whole that look just like any part of that whole. Zoom in on any part of a fractal shape and that small part looks just like the larger shape. Zoom in on part of that part, and it too looks like the larger shapes, and so on into infinity.
It is thought that nature works using fractal geometry, where investigation of any part will reveal insight into the larger whole. With this in mind, I have been struck by night time flights over metropolitan areas and how the layout of the lights look like galaxies in the abstract. With the terrestrial real estate between metropolitan areas invisible in the dark, the light from cities could easily be mistaken for a trip through the universe.
The composite images of the world at night, with population centers glowing and tendrils of light connecting them composed of smaller cities, remind me of maps of galaxy clusters and universal distributions of matter. These maps in turn remind me of maps of neural connections in the brain. The small is the big is the small again; the pieces look just like the whole.
