Chaotic Simplicity embraces hope--hope that there can be simple solutions to your everyday mental health struggles, hope that through all the chaos of life, you have a Savior who loves you and is supporting you. Addressing topics from the occasional meltdown to self-esteem, self-awareness, and the eternal perspective, this direct, down-to-earth book gives insight on everyday coping mechanisms that can be implemented to attain peace. With a little humor, Chaotic Simplicity shows that as we combine specific mental health practices with principles exemplified by the Savior, we can take back control of our minds and live a life of little chaos.
Simplicity presents a new, wide-ranging philosophical theory, one that concerns how reality is conceived. In so doing it also provides a new logic with which to approach conceptual situations. In this book, Craig Dilworth replaces the dualistic, true/false approach of formal logic with a three-part basis for thought. This basis consists of the categories of simplicity, complexity, and nothingness. The category of simplicity is paradoxical, while that of complexity is unproblematic, and that of nothingness is self-contradictory. When applied to ontological categories, such as those of substance, self, or causality, these categories of reason can resolve, rather than solve, intellectual issues. The notion of perspective is integral to the simplicity way of thinking. A particular entity--such as the self--may be conceived as simple in one perspective, while being complex or nothing in another. Combined with the categories of the simplicity theory, Dilworth uses the notion of perspective to reveal a type of conceptual conflict that differs from contradiction. So, for example, simplicity better represents the relation between competing scientific theories--such as the wave and particle theories of radiation--as a form of perspectival incompatibility. The book distinguishes between two forms of simplicity: analytic and synthetic, which can respectively be conceived of as a point and a whole. Again, the notion of perspective is employed: what is analytically simple in one perspective may well be synthetically simple in another. In this book, the simplicity way of thinking is applied to intellectual issues in philosophy, set theory, and physics. These applications show how simplicity can provide real insight into a wide variety of conceptually complex situations.
'Gribbin takes us through the basics with his customary talent for accessibility and clarity' Sunday Times The world around us can be a complex, confusing place. Earthquakes happen without warning, stock markets fluctuate, weather forecasters seldom seem to get it right - even other people continue to baffle us. How do we make sense of it all? In fact, John Gribbin reveals, our seemingly random universe is actually built on simple laws of cause and effect that can explain why, for example, just one vehicle braking can cause a traffic jam; why wild storms result from a slight atmospheric change; even how we evolved from the most basic materials. Like a zen painting, a fractal image or the pattern on a butterfly's wings, simple elements form the bedrock of a sophisticated whole. Synthesizing chaos and complexity theory for the perplexed, Deep Simplicity brilliantly illuminates the harmony underlying our existence.
Over the past two decades, no field of scientific inquiry has had a more striking impact across a wide array of disciplines–from biology to physics, computing to meteorology–than that known as chaos and complexity, the study of complex systems. Now astrophysicist John Gribbin draws on his expertise to explore, in prose that communicates not only the wonder but the substance of cutting-edge science, the principles behind chaos and complexity. He reveals the remarkable ways these two revolutionary theories have been applied over the last twenty years to explain all sorts of phenomena–from weather patterns to mass extinctions. Grounding these paradigm-shifting ideas in their historical context, Gribbin also traces their development from Newton to Darwin to Lorenz, Prigogine, and Lovelock, demonstrating how–far from overturning all that has gone before–chaos and complexity are the triumphant extensions of simple scientific laws. Ultimately, Gribbin illustrates how chaos and complexity permeate the universe on every scale, governing the evolution of life and galaxies alike.
Do we live in a simple or a complex universe? Jack Cohen and Ian Stewart explore the ability of complicated rules to generate simple behaviour in nature through 'the collapse of chaos'. 'The most startling, thought-provoking book I've read all year. I was pleased to learn that most of the things I thought I knew were wrong' -- Terry Pratchett
This heavily illustrated book collects in one source most of the mathematically simple systems of differential equations whose solutions are chaotic. It includes the historically important systems of van der Pol, Duffing, Ueda, Lorenz, Rössler, and many others, but it goes on to show that there are many other systems that are simpler and more elegant. Many of these systems have been only recently discovered and are not widely known. Most cases include plots of the attractor and calculations of the spectra of Lyapunov exponents. Some important cases include graphs showing the route to chaos. The book includes many cases not previously published as well as examples of simple electronic circuits that exhibit chaos.No existing book thus far focuses on mathematically elegant chaotic systems. This book should therefore be of interest to chaos researchers looking for simple systems to use in their studies, to instructors who want examples to teach and motivate students, and to students doing independent study.
Chaos: from simple models to complex systems aims to guide science and engineering students through chaos and nonlinear dynamics from classical examples to the most recent fields of research. The first part, intended for undergraduate and graduate students, is a gentle and self-contained introduction to the concepts and main tools for the characterization of deterministic chaotic systems, with emphasis to statistical approaches. The second part can be used as a reference by researchers as it focuses on more advanced topics including the characterization of chaos with tools of information theory and applications encompassing fluid and celestial mechanics, chemistry and biology. The book is novel in devoting attention to a few topics often overlooked in introductory textbooks and which are usually found only in advanced surveys such as: information and algorithmic complexity theory applied to chaos and generalization of Lyapunov exponents to account for spatiotemporal and non-infinitesimal perturbations. The selection of topics, numerous illustrations, exercises and proposals for computer experiments make the book ideal for both introductory and advanced courses. Sample Chapter(s). Introduction (164 KB). Chapter 1: First Encounter with Chaos (1,323 KB). Contents: First Encounter with Chaos; The Language of Dynamical Systems; Examples of Chaotic Behaviors; Probabilistic Approach to Chaos; Characterization of Chaotic Dynamical Systems; From Order to Chaos in Dissipative Systems; Chaos in Hamiltonian Systems; Chaos and Information Theory; Coarse-Grained Information and Large Scale Predictability; Chaos in Numerical and Laboratory Experiments; Chaos in Low Dimensional Systems; Spatiotemporal Chaos; Turbulence as a Dynamical System Problem; Chaos and Statistical Mechanics: Fermi-Pasta-Ulam a Case Study. Readership: Students and researchers in science (physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology) and engineering.
This book introduces readers to the full range of current and background activity in the rapidly growing field of nonlinear dynamics. It uses a step-by-step introduction to dynamics and geometry in state space to help in understanding nonlinear dynamics and includes a thorough treatment of both differential equation models and iterated map models as well as a derivation of the famous Feigenbaum numbers. It is the only introductory book available that includes the important field of pattern formation and a survey of the controversial questions of quantum chaos. This second edition has been restructured for easier use and the extensive annotated references are updated through January 2000 and include many web sites for a number of the major nonlinear dynamics research centers. With over 200 figures and diagrams, analytic and computer exercises this book is a necessity for both the classroom and the lab.
Chaos is the study of the underlying determinism in the seemingly random phenomena that occur all around us. One of the best experimental demonstrations of chaos occurs in electrical circuits when the parameters are chosen carefully. We will show you how to construct such chaotic circuits for use in your own studies and demonstrations while teaching you the basics of chaos.This book should be of interest to researchers and hobbyists looking for a simple way to produce a chaotic signal. It should also be useful to students and their instructors as an engaging way to learn about chaotic dynamics and electronic circuits. The book assumes only an elementary knowledge of calculus and the ability to understand a schematic diagram and the components that it contains.You will get the most out of this book if you can construct the circuits for yourself. There is no substitute for the thrill and insight of seeing the output of a circuit you built unfold as the trajectory wanders in real time across your oscilloscope screen. A goal of this book is to inspire and delight as well as to teach.
