--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not…" description: "\"Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.\" — B..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg" --- # Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones… ![“Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.” quote by Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg) > “Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.” [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Natural forms defy simple geometric shapes, showing complexity and irregularity in nature's patterns **In simple terms:** Nature's shapes are irregular, not perfect circles or lines Key Takeaway Recognize and appreciate natural complexity Themes science complexity nature Mood curious analytical Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - environmental design - education - artistic inspiration Key Concepts geometry fractal theory Questions to Reflect On - How does irregularity affect design? - What can we learn from natural patterns? A Different Perspective Simplified models can miss crucial details ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bark/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Clouds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds/) [Clouds Spheres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clouds-spheres-928882/) [Coastline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coastline/) [Coastlines Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coastlines-circles-928884/) [Cones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cones/) [Cones Coastlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cones-coastlines-928885/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Lightning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lightning/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Mountains Cones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains-cones-928883/) [Smooth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smooth/) [Spheres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spheres/) [Straight line](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/straight-line/) ## Related quotes > [Why is geometry often described as 'cold' and 'dry?' One reason lies in its inability to describe the shape of a cloud, a mountain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/why-is-geometry-often-described-as-cold-and-dry-one-reason-lies-in-2/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Why is geometry often described as cold and dry? One reason lies in its inability to describe the shape of a cloud, a mountain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/why-is-geometry-often-described-as-cold-and-dry-one-reason-lies-in/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [If you look at coastlines, if you look at that them from far away, from an airplane, well, you don't see details, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/if-you-look-at-coastlines-if-you-look-at-that-them-from-far-away-from/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [California has a beautiful coastline. It can be a rough coastline. The waves are huge. The rocks are steep. Same thing in Vancouver. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-granholm/california-has-a-beautiful-coastline-it-can-be-a-rough-coastline-the/) [Jennifer Granholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-granholm/) > [And if there is one thing we can be sure of, it’s that extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/and-if-there-is-one-thing-we-can-be-sure-of-it-s-that-extreme-weather/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I traveled to Ireland to research 'Sandcastles,' to visit the coastline where my ancestors looked toward America, the tiny town they once loved so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/i-traveled-to-ireland-to-research-sandcastles-to-visit-the-coastline/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) > [No amphibious attack in history has approached this one in size. Along miles of coastline there were hundreds of vessels and small boats afloat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/no-amphibious-attack-in-history-has-approached-this-one-in-size-along/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [What makes Biarritz special, as far as I'm concerned, are the fantastic coastline, the beaches - such as the Cotes des Basques - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-pigott-smith/what-makes-biarritz-special-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-are-the-fantastic/) [Tim Pigott-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-pigott-smith/) > [Between highway sounds I heard waves and thought how the curve of the coastline here had sheltered and nurtured live-born sharks, humans, and migrating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretel-ehrlich/between-highway-sounds-i-heard-waves-and-thought-how-the-curve-of-the/) [Gretel Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretel-ehrlich/) > [It is a noble land that God has given us: a land that can feed and clothe the world; a land whose coastlines would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-j-beveridge/it-is-a-noble-land-that-god-has-given-us-a-land-that-can-feed-and/) [Albert J. Beveridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-j-beveridge/) > [I grew up running miles of the Norfolk coastline. I'd think nothing of a six-mile run before breakfast. I still run, though not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dyson/i-grew-up-running-miles-of-the-norfolk-coastline-i-d-think-nothing-of/) [James Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dyson/) > [About 95% of people can be compared to ships without rudders. Subject to every shift of wind and tide, they're helplessly adrift. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/about-95-of-people-can-be-compared-to-ships-without-rudders-subject/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [ In ten years \[i.e., 1980\] all important animal life in the sea will be extinct. Large areas of coastline will have to be evacuated… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-r-ehrlich/in-ten-years-i-e-1980-all-important-animal-life-in-the-sea-will-be/) [Paul R. Ehrlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-r-ehrlich/) > [The Arctic is going to be an area of intense interest. Russia has the longest coastline in the world with the Arctic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/the-arctic-is-going-to-be-an-area-of-intense-interest-russia-has-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) ## More by Benoit Mandelbrot > [Regular geometry, the geometry of Euclid, is concerned with shapes which are smooth, except perhaps for corners and lines, special lines which are singularities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/regular-geometry-the-geometry-of-euclid-is-concerned-with-shapes/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Pictures were completely eliminated from mathematics; in particular when I was young this happened in a very strong fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/pictures-were-completely-eliminated-from-mathematics-in-particular/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [In mathematics and science definition are simple, but bare-bones. Until you get to a problem which you understand it takes hundreds and hundreds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/in-mathematics-and-science-definition-are-simple-but-bare-bones-until/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [One of the high points of my life was when I suddenly realized that this dream I had in my late adolescence of combining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/one-of-the-high-points-of-my-life-was-when-i-suddenly-realized-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [My life has been extremely complicated. Not by choice at the beginning at all, but later on, I had become used to complication and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/my-life-has-been-extremely-complicated-not-by-choice-at-the-beginning/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [The extraordinary fact is that the first idea I had which motivated me, that worked, is conjecture, a mathematical idea which may or may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/the-extraordinary-fact-is-that-the-first-idea-i-had-which-motivated/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Most economists, when modeling market behavior, tend to sweep major fluctuations under the rug and assume they are anomalies. What I have found is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/most-economists-when-modeling-market-behavior-tend-to-sweep-major/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [I don't seek power and do not run around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-don-t-seek-power-and-do-not-run-around/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [I conceived and developed a new geometry of nature and implemented its use in a number of diverse fields. It describes many of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/i-conceived-and-developed-a-new-geometry-of-nature-and-implemented/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [If you look at a shape like a straight line, what's remarkable is that if you look at a straight line from close by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/if-you-look-at-a-shape-like-a-straight-line-what-s-remarkable-is-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [When I first began studying prices, it wasn't a topic that mathematicians were working on. Purely by accident, I saw a set of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/when-i-first-began-studying-prices-it-wasn-t-a-topic-that/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [The rare scholars who are nomads-by-choice are essential to the intellectual welfare of the settled disciplines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/the-rare-scholars-who-are-nomads-by-choice-are-essential-to-the/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Science would be ruined if (like sports) it were to put competition above everything else, and if it were to clarify the rules of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/science-would-be-ruined-if-like-sports-it-were-to-put-competition/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Many painters had a clear idea of what fractals are. Take a French classic painter named Poussin. Now, he painted beautiful landscapes, completely artificial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/many-painters-had-a-clear-idea-of-what-fractals-are-take-a-french/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) [Explore all 88 Benoit Mandelbrot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) ## More Bark quotes > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [If the watchdog doesn't bark, how do you know there's a burglar in the basement? And the press is supposed to be a watchdog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/if-the-watchdog-doesn-t-bark-how-do-you-know-there-s-a-burglar-in-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Guests are people who come to your home to see you whine at the table, bark loudly, jump on women wearing pantyhose, and do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-kehret/guests-are-people-who-come-to-your-home-to-see-you-whine-at-the-table/) [Peg Kehret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-kehret/) > [I was haunted always by my other life-my drab room in the Bronx, my square foot of the subway, my fixation upon the day's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-was-haunted-always-by-my-other-life-my-drab-room-in-the-bronx-my/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [We must guard against becoming so engrossed in the specific nature of the roots and bark of the trees of knowledge as to miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/we-must-guard-against-becoming-so-engrossed-in-the-specific-nature-of/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [A tortoise is, I suppose, a Jewish pet. It knows its place. Out on the lawn. It doesn't bark. It doesn't tear the Dralon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/a-tortoise-is-i-suppose-a-jewish-pet-it-knows-its-place-out-on-the/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [Our legal system, including the police, is anti-Dalit and anti-poor. The death penalty laws' wrathful majesty, in blood-shot equality, deals the fatal blow on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-r-krishna-iyer/our-legal-system-including-the-police-is-anti-dalit-and-anti-poor-the/) [V. R. Krishna Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-r-krishna-iyer/) > [It is no use painting the foot of the tree white, the strength of the bark cries out from beneath the paint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aime-cesaire/it-is-no-use-painting-the-foot-of-the-tree-white-the-strength-of-the/) [Aime Cesaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aime-cesaire/) > [Dogs, also, bark at what they do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/dogs-also-bark-at-what-they-do-not-know/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [The dogs may bark, but the caravan moves on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-needham/the-dogs-may-bark-but-the-caravan-moves-on/) [Joseph Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-needham/) > [Dogs that bark dont bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/german-proverb/dogs-that-bark-dont-bite/) [German Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/german-proverb/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Ah, to that far distant strand Bridge there was not to convey, Not a bark was near at hand, Yet true love soon found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/ah-to-that-far-distant-strand-bridge-there-was-not-to-convey-not-a/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Don't bother about people who judge you without knowing you... Remember, dogs bark if they don't know the person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-bother-about-people-who-judge-you-without-knowing-you-remember/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you want to talk with the dogs, you must learn to bark, and bark like an old dog because he doesnt bark without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-you-want-to-talk-with-the-dogs-you-must-learn-to-bark-and-bark/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 383 Bark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bark/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Benoit Mandelbrot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not-cones-coastlines-are-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bark" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not-cones-coastlines-are-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/benoit-mandelbrot-7685_bark_clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not_2487438.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles, and bark is not smooth, nor…” — Benoit Mandelbrot", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Benoit Mandelbrot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Clouds are not spheres, mountains are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not-cones-coastlines-are-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/clouds-are-not-spheres-mountains-are-not-cones-coastlines-are-not/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```