Chaos!!!!!!

The 20th century had two revolutions in the physical sciences: Relativity eliminated the Newtonian illusion of absolute space and time; quantum theory eliminated the Newtonian dream of a "controllable measurement process". Chaos eliminates the La-Placian fantasy of "deterministic predictability". This my friends, is the third revolution that is underway.

I was passing thru' Hyderabad Airport and decided to stop at the book store (I can't resist one) so that I could pick something to read on the airplane. I saw this book on "Chaos" which dwelt on "order in disorder" and the mathematician in me reared its head. I picked the book up on impulse and what a decision it was! Some would think me to be a lunatic to describe something like this as "super", leave alone readabale stuff.

Chaos seems to be everywhere. A rising column of cigarette smoke breaks into wild swirls. A flag snaps back and forth in the wind. A dripping faucet goes from a steady pattern to a random one. Get the drift?? Or take for example; The basic idea of western science is that you don't have to take into account the falling of a leaf on some planet in another galaxy when you're trying to account for the motion of a billiard ball on a pool table on earth!! Still don't get it?? Try this; predicting the path and timing of the appearance of "Halley' Comet" is not a prophecy: its a fact!!! Forecasting such as the above is a science. However, meteorologists are still confounded with predictions about weather more than a week in the future (the British weather bureau has been acknowledged to be the best in predicting weather within a day or two - in fact, Britishers schedule or cancel their outdoor parties based on this!). On the gloomier side; it is why we have cyclones in Myanmar and earthquakes in China where thousands of lives and billions of money are lost. Chaos theory hopes to be the yet unexplored science of the future. Are you with me?? maybe not. I know this is the domain of the Einsteins and Newtons of the world. Well, what business do I have in enlightening you on the thrills in this science????????????