# Fractal image compression

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractal-image-compression/61930>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 14, 2001, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractal-image-compression/61930 "2001-04-14T07:34:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zweistein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/54ee81/32.png) [@Zweistein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweistein)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractal-image-compression/61930/1 "2001-04-14T07:34:34Z")

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How does fractal image compression work ? How can so much  
information stored in so small files ? Does fractal compression work for other type of files ?

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**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractal-image-compression/61930/2 "2001-04-14T19:59:52Z")

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Here is an [Introductory Overview](http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/raouf96fractal.html).

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**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractal-image-compression/61930/3 "2001-04-15T02:00:22Z")

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Basically, it works really well for certain specific images, but it’s lousy (in addition to be lossy 🙂 ) for most others. Guess which images they show you when they want to brag?

It’s also incredibly processor-intensive, compared to, say, JPEG.