Definition of Chaos Theory

Conventional scientific theories deal with predictable phenomena, such as gravity, chemical reactions, or electricity. Instead, chaos theory focuses on non-linear and unpredictable phenomena, such as turbulence, weather, the stock movements or the mental states of the individual.

In mathematical terms we speak of math fractals to refer to this type of phenomenon (the fractal properties of nature are present in clouds, landscapes, rivers or human organs). Professor James Yorke, born in New Jersey in 1941, is considered the father of chaos theory.

Chaos theory attempts to explain biological complexity

In the study of the human body, it is known how the tissues and organs that constitute it and their interactions, but it is not possible to fully explain what emerges from them, since it is something unexpected and unpredictable.

In the study of some species of insects it is observed that each individual of a species has a conduct in line with the whole of your community. Therefore, zoologists speak of a "superorganism" to explain the social behavior of these animals.

The parts of a neuron and their connections, but it is impossible to predict what an individual can do with all of it.

The three examples above are representative of complex systems that cannot be explained on the basis of each one of the parts that compose it, but it is necessary to handle an explanatory model that refers to its complex whole. That model is precisely chaos theory.

The metaphor of the butterfly effect is a concept of chaos theory

Let's imagine that one day we leave home a few minutes earlier than usual and because of this we meet a person who is going to be essential for the rest of our lives. This simple example allows us to remember that it is impossible to predict the effect of some seemingly irrelevant events.

This phenomenon is known as the effect butterfly, since it is affirmed in a metaphorical way that the simple flapping of a butterfly can be the first movement that ends up producing a storm thousands of kilometers away

What is being said with the idea of ​​the butterfly effect is that the world as a whole does not work in one way orderly and logical, so the traditional laws of science are not enough to explain this disorder chaotic.

To refer to the civilization human, experts in chaos theory claim that the system of human relationships presents a chaos that humans try to order.

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