The well known bell shaped curve. According to the Central Limit Theorem, the probability density function of a large number of independent, identically distributed random numbers will approach the normal distribution. In the fractal family of distributions, the normal distribution only exists when alpha equals 2, or the Hurst exponent equals 0.50. Thus, the normal distribution is a special case which in time series analysis is quite rare. See: alpha, central limit theorem , fractal distribution. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
Financial and business terms. 2012.