Fractalism (Philosophy)

A metaphysical position that the fundamental structure of reality is self-similarity across different scales. It posits that the patterns, problems, and structures we observe at one level of existence (e.g., atomic, human, cosmic) will recur, in a similar form, at all other levels. It's the philosophy of "as above, so below," updated for the age of chaos theory. The turbulence in a coffee cup is philosophically the same as the formation of a galaxy. The dynamics of a single argument with your partner mirror the entire history of your relationship.

Fractalism (Philosophy) Example:
"Look at this argument about who left the milk out. Fractalism says this isn't just a fight about milk. It's the same pattern as the fight about the thermostat last week, and the fight about the car keys last month. It's the fractal signature of our relationship dynamic."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026

Fractalism (Philosophy of Science)

A perspective that advocates for the search for scale-invariant laws and patterns in nature. It suggests that the most powerful scientific theories are those that explain phenomena across multiple orders of magnitude. The same mathematical rules that govern the branching of a river delta also govern the branching of your lungs and the branching of a lightning bolt. A Fractalist scientist is less interested in the specific thing and more interested in the generative rule that creates its structure at any scale.

Fractalism (Philosophy of Science) "Newton saw an apple fall and the moon in orbit as two different things. A Fractalist sees them as the same pattern—the inverse-square law of gravity—playing out at different scales. The apple's fall is a tiny, local iteration of the cosmic fractal."

by Abzugal February 21, 2026