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GLOSSARY INQUIRY: SELF-SIMILARITY
A special kind of scale independence in which the parts closely resemble the whole—for example, the way a branch resembles the shape of its tree.
Many fractal forms are self-similar. The same or similar characteristics can be found at multiple levels. Indeed, if sufficiently magnified or reduced, figures at one level will often fit exactly into figures at other levels.
Complex, or learning, systems demonstrate many characteristics of self-similarity. For example, fractal self-similarity has been used to describe the similarly clustered and nested structures of the brain and human social systems.
See related terms: Complex System, Dynamic Structure.
