As Ray points out, fractals are seen in all of nature, but it goes a bit further; all things in nature exist in patterns and those patterns are fractal in nature (no pun intended). If a forest is viewed from above, trees grow in fractal patterns and those patterns grow progressively smaller as the tree sizes decrease; but the pattern itself never ends. It might help to add that ancient Arabs knew of fractal patterns and used them in their art. Muslims saw fractal patterns in everything, including the leaf of every tree as being representations of Allah, the never-ending and those patterns were (are) also found in their artworks. In Islam, a fractal pattern is a valid representation of Allah that avoids the decree to create no images of Him.
Arabs developed algebra but do Arabs gets the credit for 'discovering' algebra. Or insist that they should? We use Arabic numerals rather than Roman but is the origin of Arabic numerals attributed to Arabs in classroom teaching?
The richest man to ever have lived (based on the gold that warlord held) was a man in an obscure part of Africa. I believe 'Musa' was his name, but I may not recall that correctly. The fact a black man was/is still the richest ever recorded would anger many white racists and bigots, but facts don't change.
And to claim the ancient people of Africa were using advanced equations is a bit of a stretch; fractals produce symmetry and there is beauty in symmetry. An artist doesn't need to understand the equations behind fractals to recognize beauty where it exists.
You have a chip on your shoulder and think that Western civilization, i.e. 'White', has deliberately left out the many accomplishments from Africa whereas I would say that Western civilization has simply been ignorant of those accomplishments just as Christian Europeans were ignorant of ancient cleanliness standards and medical treatments understood by Muslims and earlier peoples until they 'discovered' (re-discovered) the advanced societies of the Middle East. Great, ancient African accomplishments are slowly but steadily being recognized but claiming Africans were first and better than non-Africans simply hinders those changes.
And the Chinese abacus is a closer forerunner of modern computers than the 'ones and zeros' you say were used i n ancient Africa. If I'm wrong about the abacus being the best analogy to modern computers, then I hope someone will correct me.
Interesting story, though, thanks for sharing.
