Measuring Fractal Dimension ?

[Paul Rubin]

Arnaud Delobelle <arnodel at googlemail.com> writes:
> I think there are attempts to estimate the fractal dimension of a set
> using a finite sample from this set.  But I can't remember where I got
> this thought from!

There are image data compression schemes that work like that, trying
to detect self-similarity in the data.  It can go the reverse way too.
There was a program called Genuine Fractals that tried to increase the
apparent resolution of photographs by adding artificial detail
constructed from detected self-similarity.  Its results were mixed, as
I remember.