82,891
edits
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{a|cosmology|[[File:Fractal.jpg|450px|center|thumb|A [[fractal]] yesterday. Can you see the [[lawyer]] descending towards it in his extra-vehicular lander?]]}} | {{a|cosmology|[[File:Fractal.jpg|450px|center|thumb|A [[fractal]] yesterday. Can you see the [[lawyer]] descending towards it in his extra-vehicular lander?]]}}{{d|Fractal|/ˈfrakt(ə)l/|n|}} | ||
{{d|Fractal|/ˈfrakt(ə)l/|n|}} | |||
A [[fractal]] is a geometrical figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modelling structures (such as [[snowflake]]s)<ref>I don’t think they mean ''that'' kind of [[snowflake]], Dad.</ref> in which the same patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth and galaxy formation. | A [[fractal]] is a geometrical figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. Fractals are useful in modelling structures (such as [[snowflake]]s)<ref>I don’t think they mean ''that'' kind of [[snowflake]], Dad.</ref> in which the same patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth and galaxy formation. | ||
===As a metaphor=== | |||
The fractal is also a useful [[metaphor]] to describe the [[legal eagle]]’s approach to [[risk]]-management through the medium of the legal [[contract]], and the magnetic attraction that [[legal eagle]]s feel towards [[negotiation oubliette]]s. The more [[Anal paradox|powerful]] the lens with which you look at it, the more risk you will see. | The fractal is also a useful [[metaphor]] to describe the [[legal eagle]]’s approach to [[risk]]-management through the medium of the legal [[contract]], and the magnetic attraction that [[legal eagle]]s feel towards [[negotiation oubliette]]s. The more [[Anal paradox|powerful]] the lens with which you look at it, the more risk you will see. | ||
[[ | ===In the mathematics of lexophysics=== | ||
In the normal geometry of the [[space-tedium continuum]], [[Lexophysics|lexophysicists]] represent perfectly documented legal risk as a dead straight line and an unaddressed risk presents as a kink or bend in the line. Therefore, under the standard model, the fundamental objective of legal engineering is achieve a maximally straight line through [[space-tedium]]. | |||
The legal challenge upon encountering a kink in such a line is to fix it. The smaller the risk, you might think, the easier the fix. But, alas, this takes no account of the fractal geometry of the [[space-tedium continuum]]. | |||
The legal challenge upon encountering a kink in such a line is to fix it. The smaller the risk, you might think, the easier the fix. But, alas, this takes no account of the fractal geometry of the space-tedium continuum. | |||
Imagine we have seen and flattened out just such a kink, perhaps applying an unguent “[[notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing contained]]”, or some such placatory wording. For should one screw down the resolution on the [[ESPER machine]] to zoom in on that flattened kink — to make sure it is nice and straight now — we see to our consternation that ''there is a little kink in the middle of the old kink''. For this kink is a ''fractal''. However close we go; however elaborate our means of fixing the last kink, as we descend into [[the weeds]] to check our engineering, we will find further, smaller kinks. | Imagine we have seen and flattened out just such a kink, perhaps applying an unguent “[[notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the foregoing contained]]”, or some such placatory wording. For should one screw down the resolution on the [[ESPER machine]] to zoom in on that flattened kink — to make sure it is nice and straight now — we see to our consternation that ''there is a little kink in the middle of the old kink''. For this kink is a ''fractal''. However close we go; however elaborate our means of fixing the last kink, as we descend into [[the weeds]] to check our engineering, we will find further, smaller kinks. | ||
Now note what is happening here: as we approach that asymptotic point of intolerable [[tedium]] (the tiniest measurable particle of which is the [[Biggs hoson]], by the way), at the same time the legal superstructure we create to eradicate this ineradicable imperfection grows ever less wieldy. ''We are creating a monster''. What is worse, we may pass through an [[event horizon]], beyond which there is no [[Lexophysics|lexophysical]] way out: we are sucked ever onward by the overwhelming gravitational forces inside a [[negotiation oubliette]]. We are compelled to continue even to our destruction, dashed on the infinitesimal, pointless rocks of [[tedium]], propelled by the colossal weight of the markup we have generated. | Now note what is happening here: as we approach that asymptotic point of intolerable [[tedium]] (the tiniest measurable particle of which is the [[Biggs hoson]], by the way), at the same time the legal superstructure we create to eradicate this ineradicable imperfection grows ever less wieldy. ''We are creating a monster''. What is worse, we may pass through an [[event horizon]], beyond which there is no [[Lexophysics|lexophysical]] way out: we are sucked ever onward by the overwhelming gravitational forces inside a [[negotiation oubliette]]. We are compelled to continue even to our destruction, dashed on the infinitesimal, pointless rocks of [[tedium]], propelled by the colossal weight of the markup we have generated. | ||
===Celebrated examples=== | |||
There are some famous examples. [[Clifford Chance]] famously created its own little neutron star trying [[Extraordinary rendition|to define what ''wasn’t'' a company]] in a Luxembourg [[netting opinion]] in 2021. Some say that, in the centrifugally exploding spiral disc shape of the [[2018 ISDA Credit Support Deed for Initial Margin]], the heroic pedants of {{icds}} finally bit off more than they could chew and created a galaxy-sized black hole, into which the entire financial system may already, for all we know, have fallen. | There are some famous examples. [[Clifford Chance]] famously created its own little neutron star trying [[Extraordinary rendition|to define what ''wasn’t'' a company]] in a Luxembourg [[netting opinion]] in 2021. Some say that, in the centrifugally exploding spiral disc shape of the [[2018 ISDA Credit Support Deed for Initial Margin]], the heroic pedants of {{icds}} finally bit off more than they could chew and created a galaxy-sized black hole, into which the entire financial system may already, for all we know, have fallen. | ||
===The joint and several [[indemnity]]=== | |||
Even great catastrophes have their roots in innocuous trifles. Now, trifles do not get more innocuous than [[tri-party collateral arrangement]]s, so it is fun to see how fractal arguments can arise even in this kind of ''soufflé''. Indemnities, for example, are a common fractal trigger. Even harmless ones. | Even great catastrophes have their roots in innocuous trifles. Now, trifles do not get more innocuous than [[tri-party collateral arrangement]]s, so it is fun to see how fractal arguments can arise even in this kind of ''soufflé''. Indemnities, for example, are a common fractal trigger. Even harmless ones. | ||