<p>When you want to measure something you take your ruler or tape measure and read off the length right?</p><p>But when it comes to measuring the length of a coastline, things get a bit tricky and totally counter intuitive. 🌊</p><br><p>The science and maths of measuring wiggly coastlines reveal that the smaller the unit of measure, the longer the coastline becomes. Jono recounts the origins of this phenomenon from polymath, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Fry_Richardson" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lewis Fry Richardson</a> and its further exploration by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benoit_Mandelbrot" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Benoit B. Mandelbrot</a>. The trio also relate the concept to various other real-world examples, including the surfaces of the brain and lungs, Romanesco cauliflower, and stock market patterns. Additionally, they touch on the philosophical implications of measurement and delve into the concept of infinity.</p><br><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>00:00 Introduction the Coastline Paradox</p><p>04:12 Historical Context and Discovery</p><p>14:10 Fractals and Natural World Applications</p><p>17:26 Modern Implications and Analogies</p><p>24:36 Conclusion and Final Thoughts</p><br><p>External Links and mentions on the show:</p><ul><li>Jono refers to and leans heavily on the writing of <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/scale/geoffrey-west/9781780225593" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Geoffrey West in his book "Scale"</a> to tell the story of how this was discovered.</li><li>Rob's half-baked fact about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Standardised Meter</a> can be expanded on here.</li><li>This is what the self-similarity of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanesco_broccoli#/media/File:Romanesco_broccoli_(Brassica_oleracea).jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Romanesco Cauliflower</a> looks like</li><li>Here is the <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chestnut_avenue,_Bushy_Park,_%28among_the_trees%29.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">avenue of trees in Bushy Park</a>, in Southwest London that Jono slalomed.</li><li>Here are more facts on <a href="https://www.mathnasium.com/math-centers/portwashington/news/who-invented-zero-journey-back-time" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">who originally defined the number 'zero'</a> as we know it today.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>All music on this podcast series is provided by the very talented <a href="https://www.franccinelli.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Franc Cinelli</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>