It has been called the third great revolution of 20th-century physics, after relativity and quantum theory. But how can something called chaos theory help you understand an orderly world? What practical things might it be good for? What, in fact, is chaos theory? "Chaos theory," according to Dr. Steven Strogatz, Director of the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University, "is the science of how things change." It describes the behavior of any system whose state evolves over time and whose behavior is sensitive to small changes in its initial conditions. Visit our website at www.TEACH12.com/YouTube for other Great Courses taught by Great Professors. Courtesy of Wolfgang Beyer (www.wolfgangbeyer.de) (c) VEER David Jordan Williams/Photonica/Getty Images
It has been called the third great revolution of 20th-century physics, after relativity and quantum theory. But how can something called chaos theory help you understand an orderly world? What practical things might it be good for? What, in fact, is chaos theory? "Chaos theory," according to Dr. Steven Strogatz, Director of the Center for Applied Mathematics at Cornell University, "is the science of how things change." It describes the behavior of any system whose state evolves over time and whose behavior is sensitive to small changes in its initial conditions. Visit our website at www.TEACH12.com/YouTube for other Great Courses taught by Great Professors. Courtesy of Wolfgang Beyer (www.wolfgangbeyer.de) (c) VEER David Jordan Williams/Photonica/Getty Images