Chaos theory is a delightful contradiction - a science of predicting the behavior of "inherently unpredictable" systems. It is a mathematical toolkit that allows us to extract beautifully ordered structures from a sea of chaos - a window into the complex functioning of natural systems as diverse as the beating of the human heart and the trajectories of asteroids. So, how can this theory explain a crisis situation in general, and that of the Covid-19 pandemic in particular?
Chaos theory is a delightful contradiction - a science of predicting the behavior of "inherently unpredictable" systems. It is a mathematical toolkit that allows us to extract beautifully ordered structures from a sea of chaos - a window into the complex functioning of natural systems as diverse as the beating of the human heart and the trajectories of asteroids.
At the center of chaos theory is the fascinating idea that order and chaos are not always diametrically opposed. Chaotic systems are an intimate mixture of the two: from the outside, they display unpredictable and chaotic behavior, but expose the inner workings and you discover a set of perfectly deterministic equations that resonate like a clock.
Some systems reverse this premise, with ordered effects emerging from turbulent and chaotic causes. Chaos theory is not just the providence of mathematicians. He is remarkable for having brought together specialists from many diverse fields - physicists and biologists, computer scientists and economists.