Many people have seen or heard of fractals, but very few know what they actually are.
Fractals can be anything that contains self-similar images within itself.
For example, the human circulatory system is a fractal. If you look at the blood vessels in your hand, they resemble the overall shape that the complete system takes on. We are constantly surrounded by fractals and most don't realize it. The computer generated images on this page are fractals, but they are not the only fractals. Most occur naturally.