What is chaos theory?
Chaos theory refers to the behavior of certain systems of motion, such as ocean currents or population growth, to be especially sensitive to tiny changes in starting conditions that result in drastically different outcomes. Unlike what it implies colloquially, chaos theory doesn’t mean the world is metaphorically chaotic, nor does it refer to entropy, by which systems naturally tend toward disorder. Chaos theory relies on the uncertainty inherent in measurements, the precision of predictions, and the non-linear behavior of seemingly linear systems. Before quantum mechanics, chaos theory was the first “weird” idea of physics. Back in 1900, Henri Poincaré thought about the relationship between values at different time points of a system whose general behavior could be accurately predicted, such as a planet in orbit. He realized that we can’t ever exactly pinpoint a measurement, like position, speed, or time, because every instrument we could possibly develop would have a limit on its sen
Chaos is the science of surprises, of the nonlinear and the unpredictable. It teaches us to expect the unexpected. While most traditional science deals with supposedly predictable phenomena like gravity, electricity, or chemical reactions, Chaos Theory deals with nonlinear things that are effectively impossible to predict or control, like turbulence, weather, the stock market, our brain states, and so on. These phenomena are often described by fractal mathematics, which captures the infinite complexity of nature. Many natural objects exhibit fractal properties, including landscapes, clouds, trees, organs, rivers etc, and many of the systems in which we live exhibit complex, chaotic behavior. Recognizing the chaotic, fractal nature of our world can give us new insight, power, and wisdom. For example, by understanding the complex, chaotic dynamics of the atmosphere, a balloon pilot can “steer” a balloon to a desired location. By understanding that our ecosystems, our social systems, and
The Chaos Theory method from Lorenz and Poincar is a technique that can be used for studying complex and dynamic systems to reveal patterns of order (non-chaos) out of seemingly chaotic behaviors. “Chaos Theory is the qualitative study of unstable aperiodic behavior in deterministic nonlinear dynamical systems” (Kellert, 1993, p. 2). Aperiodic behavior is observed when there is no variable, describing the state of the system, that undergoes a regular repetition of values. Unstable aperiodic behavior is highly complex: it never repeats and it continues to manifest the effects of any small perturbation. As per the current mathematical theory a chaotic system is defined as showing “sensitivity to initial conditions”. In other words, to predict the future state of a system with certainty, you need to know the initial conditions with infinite accuracy, since errors increase rapidly with even the slightest inaccuracy. This is why the weather is so difficult to forecast. The theory also has b
Chaos Theory is a mathematical sub-discipline that studies complex systems. Examples of these complex systems that Chaos Theory helped fathom are earth’s weather system, the behavior of water boiling on a stove, migratory patterns of birds, or the spread of vegetation across a continent. Chaos is everywhere, from nature’s most intimate considerations to art of any kind. Chaos-based graphics show up all the time, wherever flocks of little space ships sweep across the movie screen in highly complex ways, or awesome landscapes adorn the theater of some dramatic Oscar scene. Remember Ace Ventura dangling from a rope over that abyss, trying to save the little raccoon? All those beautiful mountains in the back ground? That wasn’t a location shot. That was computer-generated Chaos art. Complex systems are systems that contain so much motion (so many elements that move) that computers are required to calculate all the various possibilities. That is why Chaos Theory could not have emerged befor
