Chaos theory question

[Kelddath]

I was wandering about chaos and all thepossibilities around it, and a question appeared. What the hell would happen to the worlds economy, with us being able to derive order from chaos- i mean stock exchange beetwen other things. If you knew all variables and random elements, put them in a "formula", you could get a sure shot investment, don't you think? And im a bit confused bout that, well maybe im wrong but, couldn't this be one of the thing you could do whet chaos theory is unveiled?

[Buzzwang2003]

I'm new to these forums today, too, Kelddath. What is "chaos theory"? This is new to me.
Buzzwang

[Noah]

Welcome to both of you! We're glad to have you join us.

Buzzwang, check out the Hypography Here with links to websites that have information on it.

I've done a little reading on it myself and some of this is what I've learned.

First of all, chaos is the ability to get random, unexpected results from what should be a normal equation. With Chaos theory, scientists also try to find a "pattern" in the random, chaotic results.

One example is in the 1960's a meterologist, Edward Lorenz, was trying to work out a way to predict weather using a computer program, but was only able to come up with what it might be. Later he wanted to look at a specific part of the results again and ran the program again. When it came out, the results were completely different from the first time around. What caused this is the first time the computer figured it to 6 decimal places, but when he re-entered the data he rounded it to 3 decimal places. Although he should have got results close to the first time, they were completely off. This is called the "Butterfly effect". The starting points of the 2 equations were very similar, but the results came out with huge differences, just like the atmosphere without the butterfly, and then the effects that the small addition of the butterfly produces(in the quote below).

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. (Ian Stewart, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, pg. 141)

Noah

[Tormod]

James Gleick, the author of "Faster", has also written a book about Chaos Theory, aptly titled "Chaos: Making a New Science". You can find a link next to the hypography which Noah suggests in the previous posting.

Tormod

[Noah]

I am going to order some Science books soon and that is going to be one I'm going to include on the list I'm making. Chaos Theory seems very interesting.

Noah

[Tormod]

Here are some that I've been reading recently:

James Hamilton: Faraday, the Life
A biography of Michael Faraday, one of the greatest scientist in 1800s England, and the discoverer of the properties of electromagnetism (among other things).

Imagining Space
A coffe-table book with the history and future of space travel.

The Space Shuttle: 20 years
The history of the space shuttle (this was the prize for our November quiz).

Gino Segre: A Matter of Degrees
The importance of temperature in the evolution of the Universe - and the life within it.

Graham Farmelo: It Must Be Beatuiful
A collection of essays on how scientists aim to produce new formulas, and why a "beautiful" formula is always the best. Very good reading.

John Barrow: The Constants of Nature
Great book on how the constants of nature and the natural laws which are built on them may not be so constant after all. A special book - it covers Barrow's research in greater detail than his previous collection of essays. It's reviewed in our Reviews section.

Right now I'm reading Fred Adam's "The Origins of Existence" - how life may have evolved in the Universe. Only started on it last night...


Tormod