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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where was Benoit Mandelbrot born?

2. What refers to a supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington, and founded in 1972?

3. What mathematical theorem states that every simply connected, closed 3-manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere?

4. In Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature," Houthakker explained to Mandelbrot the diagram in his office represented eight years of what?

5. When was Benoit Mandelbrot born?

Short Essay Questions

1. What led to Benoit Mandelbrot's epiphany in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"? Where was Benoit Mandelbrot working at the time?

2. What was the early life of Benoit Mandelbrot like, as described by the author in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

3. How is Robert May described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"? What did his work center on?

4. Describe the weather simulator discussed in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect." What weather conditions did it create?

5. In Chapter 2, "Revolution" Gleick refers to the pendulum as being the laboratory mouse of chaos, the new science. What metaphorical examples does Gleick give for other great scientists in this chapter?

6. What variable changed the outcome in the experiment described by Thomas S. Kuhn in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?

7. What two technologies contributed to the development of global forecasting in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"?

8. How is a Cantor set described in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

9. How did Lorenz's work influence James Yorke in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

10. What did Benoit Mandelbrot and Hendrik Houthakker agree on about the chart in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define and discuss fractals, peano curves, Sierpinski carpets and Sierpinski gaskets. When were Sierpinski carpets first discovered?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Albert Libchaber's major contributions in experimental condensed matter physics. How did his discoveries relate to the Rayleigh-Benard systems?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the origins and history of the National Meteorological Center (now the National Weather Service) and the European Center for Medium Range Forecasts. Where is each headquartered and how has it developed in today's world?

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