OT: Chaos theory
- From: Chris Hornbeck <chrishornbeckremovethis@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 06 Oct 2005 02:01:27 GMT
For anyone with any remaining interest in the issues
of climate or living systems after all the yelling, I'd
recommend James Gleick's 1987 _Chaos, Making a New Science_,
in English speaking countries on Penguin.
Chaos theory is not about randomness, it's about the
observable in nonlinear processes. "It turns out that
an eerie type of chaos can lurk just behind a facade
of order - and yet, deep inside the chaos lurks an even
eerier type of order" - Douglas Hofstadter
Very complex nonlinear systems like climate or living
things exhibit patterns and "attractors", preferred
states. Their nonlinearity makes the jumps between the
various attractors often surprisingly rapid. Small
perturbations cause only a return to the original state;
larger perturbations can cause a jump to the next
"stable" state.
In Earth's history, ice core samples show changes in
global average temperature jumping into and out of
Ice Ages in less than 100 years, for example.
This is the essense of our general misunderstanding of
climate. Those interested in the mechanics should read
at least Gleick, then follow with books in their
field of interest. Quotations from Wikipedia only
embarrass the poster.
Chris Hornbeck
.
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