The Secret Life of Chaos

This documentary was on TV last night. I remember first learning about chaos theory when I was about 17 or so.  I can't pretend to really understand all the maths behind it, but I am fascinated by the concept.


I love the idea that nature turns the simple into the complex. I love the idea that behind the chaos lies simplicity. I love the idea that the "chaos" of nature is determined by the relatively simple laws of physics. But chaos theory also accounts for why things can't always be predicted by those laws. Why a system that can be described by mathematical equations, with nothing random in them, can have outcomes that are entirely unpredictable.


Try as we might to keep our lives simple and organised, 'entropy' ensures they move toward a complex state. This is the way of the world, and in some way I find it comforting. Because it's not just me - my house doesn't stay tidy, my best laid plans for homeschooling go astray, I go from calm to anxious and stressed - it's nature.


In the words of Jurassic Park "life finds a way". I like that idea.

I included fractal art in my header because it is beautiful and I like the idea that it represents - from the chaos of our lives, my kids thoughts, finding our way through, we can create beauty that was previously unimagined, completely unpredictable. We can defy gravity.