In his theory of the Implicate Order, the late quantum physicist David Bohm refers to fractals in his study of the holomovement, the plenum that powers the inner universe almost in the sense of a feedback loop of unfolding-enfolding between the implicate and explicate orders of the cosmos.
Fractal geometry illustrates that shapes have self-similarity at descending scales.
So this is reminiscent of the Implicate Order. Iteration liberates the complexity hidden within it. He reversed the process, illustrating a micro-fractal moving into larger and larger scales. This incident reminded me of that old adage that the All of us rests in the Mind of God. Mandelbrot's fractals are the brainchild of mathematics and computer-generated technology.