Frattali: l’ordine oltre il disordine. | Giuseppe Mingione | TEDxArezzo

Our concept of order often rests on simple and natural aesthetic canons such as symmetry, cleanliness, and linearity. When these are lacking, we tend to define the context we're dealing with as disorderly. But are we sure our conclusion is correct? It often happens that apparently disorderly situations actually aren't. Seen from the right perspective, even highly complex structures reveal a hidden order that may have rules even simpler than the usual ones. This duality between complexity and simplicity is realized in fractals, which are mathematical objects, but also very real objects: a tree, a lung, a Roman cabbage, or the performance of stocks on the stock market can be considered fractals. They are objects that don't fit well into the usual dimensions: 1, 2, 3. They do, however, fit well into fractional dimensions: there are objects with a dimension of 2.5! Giuseppe Mingione, 43, is a full professor (and therefore, in effect, a baron) of Mathematical Analysis at the University of Parma. He studies the qualitative theory of solutions to elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations, questions of regularity for minimini problems in the Calculus of Variations, and other useful topics to alleviate the taedium vitae. He won the 2006 Stampacchia Medal, a European Research Council Award in 2007, and the 2010 Caccioppoli Prize. But above all, he has won the respect and trust of the beautiful black cat that occupies his home. He is considered one of the 100 most important mathematicians in the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx