Chaos Theory: Disorder in the Universe

Katherine Carpio

The Heart of Mathematics

16 June 2020

Revised 14 June 2024

Introduction
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This paper will present chaos theory from multiple angles. The historical significance,

mathematics, and the real-world applications of it will be analyzed and thoroughly explained. It's

important to mention that the field of chaos theory is relatively new. Chaos theory can also be

challenging to define. Perhaps one of the simplest definitions is that chaos is “the science of

surprises'' (Tyrrell and Wolfe, 2018). To put it simply, it means science is uncertain. Moreover,

because chaos is unpredictable, it has taught us to expect the unexpected, which can ironically

also be applied to life in general. Chaos theory, in short, deals with nonlinear elements that

cannot be controlled. Some examples of this are the weather, the stock market, the human body,

and many others. Another way of understanding chaos theory is to think of it as a set of

mathematical statements, which has its existence regardless of whether it applies to any observed

phenomena (Ekeland, 1998).

What Is Chaos Theory?

Chaos theory is the study of intricate, nonlinear, dynamic systems. It has matured into a

branch of mathematics that revolves around systems that seem to be deterministic but possess

chaotic behaviors. Chaos theory also deals with systems that seem chaotic but in reality, they

indeed do have an underlying order. To put in another way, even when systems are deterministic,

it does not make them predictable (Biswas et al., 2018, p. 124). This is what is known as chaos,

and is an important and essential theory in our lives. Since nature can be challenging to predict,

the only prediction that can be made is that it is unpredictable. As a result of chaos theory,

scientists can capture beautiful moments of unpredictability that are displayed in visual and

striking patterns. These patterns create stunning works of abstract-like art that attract our
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attention. “Chaos theory holds to the axiom that reality itself subsists in a state of ontological

anarchy (Biswas et al., 2018, p. 124).”

Chaos Theory’s Historical Significance

Frenchman Henri Poincaré was an early proponent of chaos theory who developed a new

point of view. He suggested that “to study the evolution of a physical system over time, one has

to construct a model based on a choice of laws of physics and to list the necessary and sufficient

parameters that characterize the system (Oestreicher, 2007, p. 214).” One can define the state of

the system at a given moment and this set of system states is called phase space (Oestreicher,

2007, p. 214). Russian mathematician, Andreï Nikolaïevitch Kolmogorov, was another

prominent figure in the field who was associated with several achievements, including his work

on chaos theory. He revisited the work of Poincaré in 1954 where he was able to show further

that a quasiperiodic regular motion can continue in an integrable system even when a small

perturbation is added in the system. This theorem is called the KAM and defines a gradual

transition towards chaos within an integrable system where all trajectories are consistent and

quasiperiodic. When a slight perturbation is introduced, there is still a probability of 1 to observe

quasiperiodic behavior. When a more significant perturbation is introduced, the probability of

quasiperiodic behavior decreases and an increasing proportion of trajectories becomes chaotic

until an entirely chaotic behavior is reached. In terms of complete chaos, the remaining constant

of motion is solely energy and this motion is called ergodic. (Oestreicher, 2007, p. 215).

Our present world was introduced to chaos theory by mathematician and meteorologist

Edward Lorenz in the 1960s. Lorenz first developed a mathematical design used to model the

way air moves in the atmosphere. It produced notable differences in the outcome of the model. In
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this way, he discovered the principle of Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions (SDIC),

which is now viewed as a fundamental part of any chaotic system. Lorenz had effectively

discovered that there was orderliness to chaos. By the 1970s, an interest in chaos, complexity,

and self-organizing systems started with the invention of computers. Another influential

mathematician, Benoît Mandlebrot, made strides in the chaos theory that enhanced greater

understanding of the phenomena. He investigated the images that arose from nonlinear equations

and found that plotting those iterations resulted in images called fractals (Bhutta, 1999, p. 2).

Therefore, Mandlebrot’s fractal geometry helped describe and visualize the actions of chaos,

rather than explain it (Biswas et al., 2018, p. 124). Consequently, computer art has become more

lifelike through the use of chaos and fractals. Thanks to this simple formula, a computer can

create a realistic-looking tree, for example.

Figure 1: The Mandelbrot Set

The Mathematics of Chaos Theory

The butterfly effect is one of chaos theory’s most popular and intriguing principles. This

effect grants the power to cause a hurricane in China to a butterfly flapping its wings in New

Mexico. While this may take a long time, the connection is real. If the butterfly had not flapped
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its wings at exactly the right point in time, the hurricane would not have occurred. Another way

to display this is that small changes in the initial conditions lead to extreme changes in the

results. Our lives are an ongoing demonstration of this principle (Tyrrell and Wolfe, 2018).

Lorenz noted that if a single flap could lead to a tornado that would not otherwise have formed, it

could equally prevent a tornado that would otherwise have formed. He explains, "I noted that a

single flap would have no more effect on the weather than any flap of any other butterfly’s

wings, as well as the activities of other species and our own" (Lorenz, 1993). Through the

butterfly effect theory, Lorenz had rediscovered the chaotic behavior of a nonlinear system and

that of the weather. The term chaos theory was given to the phenomenon by the mathematician

James A. Yorke afterwards. (Oestreicher, 2007).

Figure 2: The Lorenz Attractor

Unpredictability is yet another extremely important principle of chaos theory. Since we

can never know all the fundamental conditions of a complex system in sufficient detail, we

cannot hope to predict the fate of a complex system. Even slight errors in measuring the state of

a system will be amplified dramatically, resulting in any prediction useless. Therefore, accurate

long-range weather prediction will always be impossible (Tyrrell and Wolfe, 2018). This does
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not mean that disorder chaos is just disorder. Chaos examines the transitions between disorder

and order which commonly happen in unexpected ways. The next principle is called mixing,

which means that turbulence ensures that two adjacent points in a complex system will

eventually end up in very different positions after some time has elapsed (Tyrrell and Wolfe,

2018). Other principles are examples: such as when two water molecules may end up in different

parts of an ocean or different oceans altogether, or when a group of helium balloons that launch

together will eventually land in dramatically different places. Mixing is thorough because there is

turbulence happening at all scales and it's nonlinear, meaning fluids cannot be unmixed.

Feedback is when systems become chaotic when there’s feedback present. A great example of

this is the behavior of the stock market. As the value of a stock rises or falls, people are inclined

to buy or sell that stock. This then “further affects the price of the stock, causing it to rise or fall

chaotically” (Tyrrell and Wolfe, 2018).

Without fractals, we would not have chaos theory. Fractals are not just intricate shapes

and aesthetic images created by computers. Anything that appears random and irregular can be a

fractal. (Biswas, et al, 2018). In theory, one can argue that everything existent in this world is a

fractal (Biswas, et al, 2018). Fractals, however, must exhibit five properties, they are the ability

to be differentiated, have a fractal dimension, they must also possess self-similarity, multifractal

scaling, a fine and detailed structure at any scale, and simple and conceivably recursive

definitions (Biswas, et al, 2018). To put in another way, fractals are never-ending complex

patterns that are similar to themselves on different scales. They repeat the same simple process

“over and over in an ongoing feedback loop” (Tyrrell and Wolfe, 2018). They are motivated by

recursion and these models of dynamic systems become the very image of Chaos. By creating
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vast numbers of points using computers to generate those points, mathematicians discovered

these stunningly complex images.

Figure 3: Chaotic systems = a fractal

Additionally, there are two key properties of fractals. They must have self-similarity and

fractal dimensions. Self-similarity means that at every level the fractal image repeats itself.

Sierpinski's Triangle demonstrates this extremely well: a triangle within smaller triangles, within

even smaller triangles, within yet even smaller triangles, and so on (Bhutta, 1999). Lots of

shapes in nature exhibit this same trait of self-similarity. In the medicine field, fractals can be

found in regional distribution of pulmonary blood flow, pulmonary alveolar structure, regional

myocardial blood flow heterogeneity, surfaces of proteins, and in mammographic parenchymal

patterns as a risk for breast cancer (Bhutta, 1999). This could very well mean that understanding

mathematical fractals and their applications in our world proves to be indispensable and

potentially life-saving.
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Figure 4: Sierpinski’s Triangle

Chaos Theory and it’s Real-World Applications

We have learned that although chaos theory was the effect of studying weather patterns,

it has also been useful when implemented in many other fields. Mathematics, geology,

microbiology, biology, computer science, economics, engineering, finance, algorithmic trading,

meteorology, philosophy, anthropology, physics, politics, population dynamics, physiology, and

robotics are several promising areas benefiting from chaos theory today (Biswas, et al, 2018).

Other areas benefiting are weather models, the ever-changing stock market, bird migration

powers, and neural networks and systems that are related to quantum phenomena, which is a

theory based on two primary components. The first one is that systems regardless of their

complexity rely on an overall principle that rules their behavior, making it deterministic,

theoretically, which is not due to its instability and the presence of other numerous factors. The

other chief component is the high sensitivity to initial conditions, that a minute change in the

initial conditions, "such as rounding errors in numerical computation of a certain dynamical

system can produce cataclysmic and unpredictable outcomes for that dynamical system"

(Biswas, et al, 2018).

Market prices tend to be extremely random, yet if you pay close attention they do possess

a trend. The amount of the trend changes from market to market, from time frame to time frame,

and the price movements that occur over several minutes will resemble price movements that

take place for several years (Biswas, et al, 2018). Technically, market crashes should not ever

happen. However, Mandlebrot predicted that a market crash should happen roughly once every

decade. We have recorded major crashes in 1987, 1998, and most recently in 2008, meaning

Mandlebrot’s prediction has been reasonably accurate. Based on chaos theory, the new Fractal

Market Hypothesis illustrates the phenomena of the financial branch, which the Efficient Market

Hypothesis could not deal with. This hypothesis includes two exponents, Hurst and Lyapunov.

Hurt determines the rate of chaos and the distinguished fractal from a random time series, while

Lyapunov determines the rate of predictability (Biswas, et al, 2018). If there is a positive

Lyapunov exponent, this indicates chaos and it sets the time scale which allows for the state of

predication to become possible. By plotting stock market variations and matching them with

patterns found on chaotic analyses using the exponents, it might be possible to predict the future

conduct of the stock market (Biswas, et al, 2018).

Figure 5: Example of trending behavior

Chaos in the Body

Understanding the human body is a never-ending job. To the surprise of many, even

chaos theory has a place here. There have been intellectuals who have argued that in some cases,

cardiac arrhythmias are instances of chaos. This knowledge allows for innovative ways of

managing and regulating this ailment. Normally the method for controlling a system is to model

it mathematically in great detail to be able to control important parameters (Yurkon, 1997).

Unfortunately, this method does not work in chaotic systems because no model can be produced

for a system with an endless amount of unpredictable orbits. Since the human body cannot be

manipulated fast enough to control cardiac chaos, a team of mathematicians developed a similar

method labeled PPF (Yurkon, 1997). They conducted eleven trial runs where they successfully

controlled induced arrhythmia in eight of the cases. Another positive outcome from this is that

the stimuli did not overdrive the heart so to speak, the stimuli did not even have to be delivered

on every beat (Yurkon, 1997). This contrasted favorably with the periodic method which was
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never successful in recovering a periodic rhythm and also tended to make the rhythm more

aperiodic. Hence, apart from producing an effective method of control, "the method would be a

less dramatic intrusion into the patient's system" (Yurkon, 1997). This chaotic behavior of

cardiac rhythms raises the basic question as to the role of chaos in biology as a whole.

Interestingly, without chaos, the cardiac system could not function since the power of self-

organization engages in the ability of the heart to adjust to physiological demands (Oestreicher,

2007).

Figure 6: Fractal geometry found in the blood vessels of the heart

Concluding Thoughts

Chaos theory may initially sound like a complex and highly scientific or mathematical

phenomenon at first. However, it is actually present in everyday life. Even seemingly random

phenomena like the weather are more intricate than they appear. Chaotic systems have specific

features that influence our world in various ways. Importantly, chaos theory bridges different
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fields and provides a new approach to using observational data, especially data that may have

been disregarded in the past due to its erraticness or unpredictability. (Biswas et al., 2018).

Further research in this area will lead to a better understanding of how chaos theory applies to

our world. Ultimately, chaos theory is foundational in our everyday lives.

References

Bhutta, A. A. (1999). Chaos Theory & Fractals, Their Applications in Real Life. Applied Signal
Processing.

Biswas, H. R., Hasan, M., Bala, S. K. (2018). Chaos Theory and its Applications in Our Real
Life. Barishal University Journal Part 1, 5(1&2): 123-140 (2018) ISSN 2411-247X123
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Ekeland, I. (1998). What Is Chaos Theory? Review (Fernand Braudel Center), 21(2), 137-150.
Retrieved May 15, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/40241422

Lorenz, E. N. (1993). The Essence of Chaos. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Oestreicher, C. (2007). A History of Chaos Theory. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience.

Tyrrell, J., & Wolfe, J. (2018). What is Chaos Theory? Retrieved from

https://fractalfoundation.org/resources/what-is-chaos-theory/

Yurkon, G. T. (1997, May 28). Introduction to Chaos and It's Real World Applications.
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Image References:

Figure 1
Fichter, L. S. (2009, July 13). James Madison University - Department of Geology &
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Figure 2
Hale, M. (2001). Chaos and Fractals. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from
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Figure 3
Fnord, J. (2018, January 29). What is The Connection Between Chaos Theory and Fractals?
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theory-and-fractals/

Figure 4
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Ho, A. (1995, November). Sierpinski’s Triangle. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from
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Figure 5
Tavora, M. (2019, June 16). How the Mathematics of Fractals Can Help Predict Stock Markets
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