Reflections on Week 7: Chaos theory
Chaos theory: the qualitative study of unstable aperiodic behavior in deterministic nonlinear dynamical systems
“Organized Chaos, does this sound familiar?”
In the most general sense, one could compare “organized chaos” to living systems: if you picture a living system and its external environment as one web-like entity, you could see that they are inter-dependent and interrelate on every level. Essentially, a living system requires organization and structure; whereas, nature is chaos. You cannot measure a coastline since it is always changing, but a fish has a specific physical structure with a particular input (food) and output (excrement). Fish require a water environment and, in fact, need the chaotic aspect of water: currents and the water cycle, for instance, in order to survive as well. I really like how Nina put it in her blog: we are also examples of organized chaos as we learn to heal and recover from chaotic experiences in life. Her thoughts showed me another lens to look through & a new way to look at the nature of healing.
Fractals as Patterns of Complex Systems
“As within, so without, & as above, so below,” so goes an old adage. We, as conscious beings, are constantly looking for patterns: where can we see a homunculus, a microsystem that represents a macro system? In the ear, face, hands, in mirror imaging of the body. How similar is the flow of qi and blood in an acupuncture channel to a river system? The 5 shu points paint a nice picture: you find water in a well, the water springs up, starts to flow into a stream and then a river and finally meets the sea. (Jing-well, ying-spring, shu-stream, jing-river, and he-sea) But how do we find patterns in chaos? Isn’t the nature of chaos irregularity and spontaneous eruption? Fractals, as patterns of organized chaos, provide a satisfactory answer. We can see chaos theory helps us to predict weather patterns, with calculations of vast amounts of information, we can see a short-term pattern emerge & predict the weather for the next 2 or 3 days. But since weather changes with time and we can’t account for all the future variables, we have to wait to predict the weather after the next two days. Fractals are a complex pattern that occurs only with calculating enough information and over time using chaos theory equations, which “set definite limits to the predictability of complex non-linear systems.”
Consciousness Out of Chaos
We are rediscovering so much about the power of the human mind. We have so much influence on each other and our own selves just by the content and function of our thought processes. We can even select what we want to bring more into focus in our life experience by way of our free will. The shades and tints of our psychological state paint how we see our environment as well. Our individual (are they truly individualized, or is it the collection and relationship between our experiences, memories, cultures, personality, and needs? ) consciousness exists as a self-regulating, self-generating, self-perpetuating entity in relation to the chaotic nature of our environment, whether that environment is urban or rural.
Though it doesn’t necessarily relate, or maybe it does, but I wonder where our intuition originates. What is the source of the deep, ancient voice guiding us? Is it the soul? What fuels and creates the soul? Is the mystery of the soul and the mystery of dark energy possibly related? What if the reason we don’t know how to measure and locate dark energy is related to our lack of comprehension of the nature of the soul? It’s a HUGE jump, I agree, but I think it’s a stimulating effort to push into unknown territory.
Anyway! Chaos is irregular and undeterminable change & as living systems, we humans respond to chaos using our consciousness. We adapt according to the information we’ve received thus far in life in order to survive, thrive, and create sustained life. The adaptation can definitely include the stimulation of consciousness, changes in perception, and lead to additional and alternative solutions to problems. And we can’t prevent or control when chaos shakes things up, so we have to be able to identify it as it happens, which means we have to be aware!
“Organized Chaos, does this sound familiar?”
In the most general sense, one could compare “organized chaos” to living systems: if you picture a living system and its external environment as one web-like entity, you could see that they are inter-dependent and interrelate on every level. Essentially, a living system requires organization and structure; whereas, nature is chaos. You cannot measure a coastline since it is always changing, but a fish has a specific physical structure with a particular input (food) and output (excrement). Fish require a water environment and, in fact, need the chaotic aspect of water: currents and the water cycle, for instance, in order to survive as well. I really like how Nina put it in her blog: we are also examples of organized chaos as we learn to heal and recover from chaotic experiences in life. Her thoughts showed me another lens to look through & a new way to look at the nature of healing.
Fractals as Patterns of Complex Systems
“As within, so without, & as above, so below,” so goes an old adage. We, as conscious beings, are constantly looking for patterns: where can we see a homunculus, a microsystem that represents a macro system? In the ear, face, hands, in mirror imaging of the body. How similar is the flow of qi and blood in an acupuncture channel to a river system? The 5 shu points paint a nice picture: you find water in a well, the water springs up, starts to flow into a stream and then a river and finally meets the sea. (Jing-well, ying-spring, shu-stream, jing-river, and he-sea) But how do we find patterns in chaos? Isn’t the nature of chaos irregularity and spontaneous eruption? Fractals, as patterns of organized chaos, provide a satisfactory answer. We can see chaos theory helps us to predict weather patterns, with calculations of vast amounts of information, we can see a short-term pattern emerge & predict the weather for the next 2 or 3 days. But since weather changes with time and we can’t account for all the future variables, we have to wait to predict the weather after the next two days. Fractals are a complex pattern that occurs only with calculating enough information and over time using chaos theory equations, which “set definite limits to the predictability of complex non-linear systems.”
Consciousness Out of Chaos
We are rediscovering so much about the power of the human mind. We have so much influence on each other and our own selves just by the content and function of our thought processes. We can even select what we want to bring more into focus in our life experience by way of our free will. The shades and tints of our psychological state paint how we see our environment as well. Our individual (are they truly individualized, or is it the collection and relationship between our experiences, memories, cultures, personality, and needs? ) consciousness exists as a self-regulating, self-generating, self-perpetuating entity in relation to the chaotic nature of our environment, whether that environment is urban or rural.
Though it doesn’t necessarily relate, or maybe it does, but I wonder where our intuition originates. What is the source of the deep, ancient voice guiding us? Is it the soul? What fuels and creates the soul? Is the mystery of the soul and the mystery of dark energy possibly related? What if the reason we don’t know how to measure and locate dark energy is related to our lack of comprehension of the nature of the soul? It’s a HUGE jump, I agree, but I think it’s a stimulating effort to push into unknown territory.
Anyway! Chaos is irregular and undeterminable change & as living systems, we humans respond to chaos using our consciousness. We adapt according to the information we’ve received thus far in life in order to survive, thrive, and create sustained life. The adaptation can definitely include the stimulation of consciousness, changes in perception, and lead to additional and alternative solutions to problems. And we can’t prevent or control when chaos shakes things up, so we have to be able to identify it as it happens, which means we have to be aware!
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