What was Benoit B. Mandelbrots middle name?

GNU: GNU's Not Unix WINE: WINE Is Not an Emulator [YAML](https://www.wikiwand.com/en/YAML): YAML Ain't Markup Language And other's have trained us in the pattern

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Zotoaster@reddit

Anyone remember XNA? XNA = XNA's Not Acronymed

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Salarian_American@reddit

I'm very fond of PCMCIA: People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms

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404_GravitasNotFound@reddit

Ah, lovely, brings back memories. It's not recursive though.

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buttcrack_lint@reddit

TIARA: TIARA Is a Recursive Acronym

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-lousyd@reddit

Yet another what? It ain't markup language.

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astrogringo@reddit

One of my fond memories from the 90s is when i went to a talk by Mendelbrot. This was for general audience, not for mathematicians.

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skarekroh@reddit

It’s an old joke among IBM employees. Guess where I work.

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I never knew the "B" in IBM was Benoit. Does the "M" also point to Mandelbrot? Today I Learned... That today I learned... That... Apologies, but I studied CompSci in the early 80s and visualization of Fractals was a WTF? moment.

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Alive_Ice7937@reddit

Arby's?

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skarekroh@reddit

I guess I should also explain that Mandlebrot famously worked there for several years.

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richardelmore@reddit

I’ve heard people who met him joke that the standard unit of arrogance is the microbenny.

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skarekroh@reddit

Yeah, legend has it that he wasn’t an easy person to be around.

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cazzipropri@reddit

For IBM?

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theorem_llama@reddit

,. Wow people actually understood the joke Yeah, it's not that original.

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creswitch@reddit

That's been one of my favourite jokes for at least 20 years. But not everyone knows what a mandelbrot/fractal is

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flinxo@reddit

Thought it was too complex?

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External_Structure33@reddit

I don’t get it. Does it need a smaller font?

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Malvastor@reddit

As my company's implementation lead for the TTP Protocol, I found it very amusing.

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MjolnirPants@reddit

They say he never wrote a block letter in his entire life. He only ever wrote in recursive.

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fretinator007@reddit

Yeah, and those young people today can't even read recursive!

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Federal_Composer_684@reddit (OP)

How dafuq

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MjolnirPants@reddit

Are you critiquing my horrible pun? (Sorry, I have low self-esteem, it's the product of a fractal ego.)

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cazzipropri@reddit

Maybe your problems, if you investigate their roots, are imaginary.

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MjolnirPants@reddit

I'm not even sure *i* exist.

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cazzipropri@reddit

Come on. Get real.

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MjolnirPants@reddit

[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Mathjoke.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Mathjoke.jpg) (I actually made that one myself.)

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ChooseExactUsername@reddit

I need a new t-shirt with that. I'm not sure what people will think when I have "Brought to you by MjolnirPants" below. That would take too long to explain.

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MjolnirPants@reddit

Both of my kids were brought to you by MjolnirPants. There's plenty of fly-by-night shops making T-shirts out of it. Being on WP, as long as I'm credited, it's legal to even resell the image (Alamy will happily sell you this particular one) or merch with it on there. If you can't find a reputable site, lemme know and I'll throw it up on my redbubble shop.

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cazzipropri@reddit

You are the original author of that? Are you serious? I was thinking exactly of that joke when i wrote "get real"!

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MjolnirPants@reddit

I made that image and posted it to Commons after I thought of the joke in 2017, assumed it must exist somewhere online, and then was completely unable to find it online. It was the first image I made on my first new computer since the 90s. AFAIK, I'm single-handedly responsible for the spread online, but I have a sneaking suspicion that something very similar must have existed before that, I just couldn't find it. I'd be *shocked* if I was the first one to think of that joke.

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cazzipropri@reddit

Either way - I'm impressed. I'm the vehicle through which your joke came back to you. In retrospect, of all places, it makes sense I would meet you here, on r/Jokes, in a post about a math joke...

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miauguau44@reddit

Give up, it’s pointless

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TheSoupThief@reddit

Woosh!

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cazzipropri@reddit

Oh boy

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HamletHomer@reddit

Love this!

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Reecethehawk@reddit

hahahahhahahaha

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markmakesfun@reddit

[Mandelbrot Set -Jonathan Coulton](https://youtu.be/6tsutU92rrE?si=yBoEiaeZ4uZlUmlK)

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ChooseExactUsername@reddit

I've never heard this song. Very good.

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markmakesfun@reddit

Jonathan is awesome. He tours. Seeing him in person is terrific, if you get a chance! His songs are written for smart people with a sense of humor. He and his “group” (friends, musicians, celebrities) put on a great show.

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2552686@reddit

That is actually very clever! Nicely done! Nicely done!

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afristralian@reddit

I didn't get it and the it recurred to me.

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johnp299@reddit

Benoits, *all the way down*.

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User42wp@reddit

Balls! Boom!

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OldTomFrost7@reddit

Benoit... Balls (any Archer fans here?)

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Emperormike1st@reddit

Benoit B. Mandelbrot What was Benoit B. Mandelbrot's middle name? Benoit B. Mandelbrot What was Benoit B. Mandelbrot's middle name? Benoit B. Mandelbrot What was Benoit B. Mandelbrot's middle name? Benoit B. Mandelbrot What was Benoit B. Mandelbrot's middle name?

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MeButNotMeToo@reddit

This needs to be in successively smaller fonts.

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vexedthespian@reddit

They are, but then zoomed into the small font and it just appears to be the same size. /it’s been many years since I first read this joke (yes, here in this very sub) and it has been my go to for “smart joke that appeal to very very niche population that love to feel smug about nerdy stuff” (which I consider myself a part of.)

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External_Structure33@reddit

(Needs progressively smaller fonts.)

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TalkToTheGirl@reddit

Mandelbrot ^Mandelbrot ^^Mandelbrot ^^^Mandelbrot

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bostondana2@reddit

What do you call a stolen Tesla? An Edison...

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Cipreh@reddit

That's quite a set up.

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SkyPork@reddit

Oh shit this is a *smart* joke.

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No_Boysenberry915@reddit

beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot beniot benoit benoit benoit benoit beniot ............................................ mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot mandlebrot

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bwwatr@reddit

Benoit B. Mandelbrot Benoit Benoit B. Mandelbrot Mandelbrot Benoit Benoit Benoit B. Mandelbrot Mandelbrot Mandelbrot Benoit Benoit Benoit Benoit B. Mandelbrot Mandelbrot Mandelbrot Mandelbrot

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hudsoncress@reddit

clever

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Aw3som3-O_5000@reddit

Who? And what?

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fuckry_at_its_finest@reddit

Good one. Although I think it might work slightly better if you phrased it as "What does the B in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for?" The only difference here being that this same question can be asked of the answer, giving you the recursive nature. But if you asked what the "middle name" of a middle name is it doesn't sound quite right to me because the whole thing is a middle name. So if you adopt the other version of the question it can be asked infinite times if that makes sense

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Admirable_Cry_3795@reddit

Balls

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ineedmoreslee@reddit

I can’t even say it without saying balls

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GuntherHogmoney@reddit

Nice, but shouldn’t it be a little bit different, but similar, each time? (Btw, my graphics prof in uni was a research student under mandelbrot. Said he would refuse to release new images until he studied them exhaustively to make sure he found all the secrets first. Hehe)

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