Chaos Theory

Chaos theory is a field of study in mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including physics, engineering, economics, biology, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions, an effect which is popularly referred to as the butterfly effect. Small differences in initial conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computation) yield widely diverging outcomes for such dynamical systems, rendering long-term prediction impossible in general. This happens even though these systems are deterministic, meaning that their future behavior is fully determined by their initial conditions, with no random elements involved. In other words, the deterministic nature of these systems does not make them predictable. This behavior is known as deterministic chaos, or simply chaos.

Chaotic behavior can be observed in many natural systems, such as weather. Explanation of such behavior may be sought through analysis of a chaotic mathematical model, or through analytical techniques such as recurrence plots and Poincaré maps.

Read more about Chaos TheoryChaotic Dynamics, History, Distinguishing Random From Chaotic Data, Applications, Cultural References

Other articles related to "chaos theory, chaos, theory":

Chaos Theory In Organizational Development
... Chaos theory in organizational development refers to a subset of chaos theory which incorporates principles of quantum mechanics and presents them in a complex systems environment ... To the observer the systems seem to be in chaos ... Development of a business system is the management of that apparent chaos ...
Chaos Theory In Organizational Development - Applications and Pitfalls
... Using chaos theory as the sole model for change may be far too risky for any stakeholder buy-in ... The concept of uncertainty on which chaos theory relies is not an appealing motive for change compared to many alternative "safer" models of organizational change which entail less risk ... Although chaos eventually gives way to self-organization, how can we control the duration, intensity, and shape of its outcome? It seems that punctuating equilibrium and ...
Topics in The Complex Systems Study - Complexity and Chaos Theory
... Complexity theory is rooted in chaos theory, which in turn has its origins more than a century ago in the work of the French mathematician Henri Poincaré ... Chaos is sometimes viewed as extremely complicated information, rather than as an absence of order ... The point is that chaos remains deterministic ...
Butterfly Effect In Popular Culture - Television
... In a second season episode of CSI titled "Chaos Theory", the entire CSI team investigates a disappearance of a young woman at a local university ... This leads the team to discuss the "Chaos Theory" when combined, many seemingly innocuous events may have a deadly outcome, and closure is not always within reach ... the NBC sitcom Community entitled "Remedial Chaos Theory" revolves around the concept of various existing timelines, each set up by the character Jeff rolling a die to determine which character will pick ...
Chaos Theory - Cultural References
... Chaos theory has been mentioned in movies and works of literature, including Michael Chrichton's novel Jurassic Park as well as it's film adaptation, the films Chaos and The ... game The Secret World the Dragon secret society uses chaos theory to achieve political dominance ... Chaos theory was the subject of the BBC documentaries High Anxieties — The Mathematics of Chaos directed by David Malone, and The Secret Life of Chaos presented by Jim Al-Khal ...

Famous quotes containing the words theory and/or chaos:

    It is not enough for theory to describe and analyse, it must itself be an event in the universe it describes. In order to do this theory must partake of and become the acceleration of this logic. It must tear itself from all referents and take pride only in the future. Theory must operate on time at the cost of a deliberate distortion of present reality.
    Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)

    Out of chaos God made a world, and out of high passions comes a people.
    George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)