Chaos Theory
What exactly is chaos theory? From the understanding of many scientists such as Edward Lorenz, Ian Stewart, and Robert May the chaos theory relatively means the same thing. Each of these scientists contributed to the science of chaos theory.
First and Foremost chaos theory itself comes from the seemingly half-hazard way things seem to happen in its equations, but chaos theory is really about finding the similarities between these seemingly random events in an equation.
Edward Lorenz, a meteorologist, discovered this theory when he was working on a calculation for weather prediction on his computer. He set his computer to use 12 different equations to model the weather. The computer didn’t necessarily predict the weather. It just gave a guess at where the weather might be. Using these twelve different equations he tried running the model of the weather. After the equation was done he went away from his computer. Edwards wanted to see the results of his equations again so to save time he started the equations half way. He entered the number off the printout of the previous equation and let it run. Yet when he looked at his computer again the equation was drastically different as the picture shows.
All of this happened in 1961. The ideas of the time stated that you should have come out with the same results. In this time a scientist would be called “lucky” if they can get measurements with accuracy too 3 decimal places. The ideas believe that the 4th and 5th decimal places couldn’t have that dramatic an effect on anything. Edward Lorenz proved them wrong. This effect later became known as the butterfly effect. Due to its relatively same comparison as a butterfly flapping its wings.
Ian Stewart wrote on Lorenz’s experiment and stated “The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does.”#
Lorenz later stated the to predict the weather was impossible. This led him to discover another attribute of the chaos theory. He wanted to make a simpler version of his twelve equation system but he still wanted to keep its “sensitive dep...
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...derstand the behavior of a non-linear system you need in principle to study the system as a whole and not just its parts in isolation.
It has been said that if the universe is an elephant, then linear theory can only be used to describe the last molecule in the tail of the elephant and chaos theory must be used to understand the rest. Or, in other words, linear systems in nature are relatively rare, and almost all interesting real-world systems are described by non-linear systems.
Basically chaos theory can be summed up as the mathematical equation for the dramatic world we live in. The chaos theory can be used to describe many things this shows its usefulness. That is why I believe that we will inevitably see chaos theory being used in schools today and maybe it will even head us to the next world of tomorrow.
Sources Cited
“Bach to Chaos: Chaotic Variations on a Classical Theme", Science News, Dec. 24, 1994, pg. 428.
Gleick, James, Chaos - Making a New Science, Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1987.
Stewart, Ian, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1989.
So from that facts and his theory to solve the planet problem, he explained the retrograde motion. (Retrograde motion is actually an optical illusion because it appears to go backward as Earth passes).
“Chaos theory proves that unpredictability is built into our daily lives.”(Crichton 313). Ian Malcolm’s words resolve the book, Jurassic Park, in a very absolute way. Throughout the book, Malcolm, spoke about chaos theory and his self proclaimed “Malcolm Effect” to explain his reasoning in his predictions. Ian Malcolm had predicted the demise of Jurassic Park even before its opening, as well as its multiple problems and difficulties. Malcolm’s theory is evidenced countless times throughout the story of Jurassic Park; dinosaurs are breeding, dinosaurs are escaping, and systems fail.
Indirectly through out his novel, Camus compares people who rely too much on their logic and rationality, versus those who accept that our world is confusing and unpredictable. Similar to his thinking, in “Crickets, Bats, Cats and Chaos” Lewis Thomas suggests that chaos stimulates the brain and actually suggests that even crickets or cats have thoughts during chaotic or unpredictable situations. Even though I have always seen chaos as a total lack of order, a desperate situation in which an individual loses control, Thomas gave me a new concept for chaos. He says that it emerges when a system is altered by a small change or small uncertainty in its interior; chaos is then the
According to Edward Lorenz (founder of the Chaos Theory) chaos is the science of surprises, of the nonlinear and the unpredictable. It teaches us to expect the unexpected. 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. (Lorenz 1995: 187)
Baudrillard, Jean. "Simulacra and Simulations." Jean Baudrillard, Selected Writings, ed Mark Poster. Stanford University Press, 1998, pp.166-184.
The scientist Edward Lorenz identified what is known as the butterfly effect. Which states that a single flap of a butterfly wing could conceivably transform storm systems on the opposite side of the world. ...
small change in one variable can have a disproportional, even catastrophic, impact on other variables; this is the signature of chaos. By no means, though, is that the
It teaches us to expect the unexpected. A famous example of chaos theory, referred to as the "butterfly effect, “postulates that the beat of a butterfly's wing could trigger a breath of breeze
Randomization, in the form of mutations, provides genetic variation. Evolution itself is not entirely a random process, but the mutations that have appeared throughout history are. Because of this, one would argue that with the summation of many mutations over time, evolution would inevitably create more randomization within the system resulting in an increase in disorder. In an isolated system, the overall entropy would undoubtedly increase following a series of mutations. Because of natural selection (the idea that an organism that is better suited to its environment will survive and produce more offspring than those organisms who are not), it can be said that chance mutations are not the only driving force behind evolution, thus evolution is not entirely a spontaneous process (Williams,
In this paper the simple correlations will be discussed and how it results in a fictional
Chaos Theory has made quite an impact on the modern world. Even in its infancy it has been a powerful tool in shaping popular thought of the natural world. Once dismissed as a theoretical science with no practical application, chaos theory has blossomed into an intricate and beautiful pattern, much like the fractals it deals with. Chaos theory is a complex combination of math and physics, but with its mastery comes a new era in the human understanding of the world around us.
Wigner, Eugene P. 1960. The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics. Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics 13: 1-14.
In Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, the strongest conflict is an internal conflict that is most prominently shown in Marlow and Kurtz. This conflict is the struggle between their image of themselves as civilized human beings and the ease of abandoning their morality once they leave society. This inability has a close resemblance to the chaos theory. This is shown through the contrast of Kurtz as told by others and the actuality of him and through the progression of Marlow's character throughout Heart of Darkness.
A scientific theory is an explanation that is well- substantiated explanation in regards to some aspect of the natural world that is attained through scientific method and is tested numerous times and usually confirmed through vigorous observation and experimentation. The term theory can be seen as a collection of laws which allow you to show some kind of phenomenon. The strength of a scientific theory associated with the diversity of phenomena can explain its elegance and simplicity. However when new evidence is gathered a scientific theory can be changed or even rejected if it does not fit the new findings, in such cases a more accurate theory is formed. Scientific theories are used to gain further
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