Nonlinearity

Chaos Theory

Chaos theory is often referred to as the “new science,” and one of the reasons for this description stems from a departure from a traditional scientific worldview of linear systems. The worldview of linear systems is based on laws such as those created by Sir Isaac Newton and used to identify or attempt to identify cause-and-effect relationships that enable scientists to predict the direct dependence of one variable on another. Although the foundations of most disciplines are grounded in this notion of linearity, this narrow conception of systems has had limited success in predicting outcomes beyond the very short term. Scholars in a variety of disciplines, in both natural and social sciences, have been forced to reinvent their worldviews to account for the increasing complexity of their observations.

To account for more complexity, chaos theory embraces a “neo-Newtonion” manner of conceptualizing how systems work. In this modified systems approach, systems are seen as nonlinear, dynamic, or chaotic (nonlinear will be used for the duration of this article) instead of linear. A nonlinear system is fundamentally different from a linear system because nonlinear systems are not governed by proportional cause-and-effect relationships.

Within a traditional linear system perspective, Newton's third law explains that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thus, an event such as a crisis situation should, from a Newtonian perspective, create a proportional reaction within the system and unfold in a predictable manner from a known set of initial conditions. However, chaos theory scholars present much evidence to suggest that this relationship is not accurate for many, if not all, systems.

For example, when chaos theory is applied to a recognized nonlinear system such as the weather, very small changes to the initial conditions of a weather system dramatically impact the way that system evolves. These very small changes in the initial conditions of a weather system may actually create an exponential—not [Page 672]proportional—reaction in the system, so that even after a short period of time it is difficult to identify that two systems began with very similar sets of initial conditions.

A homemade sign updates residents of a neighborhood in Slidell, Louisiana, on September 12, 2005, that their drinking water supply, once contaminated from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, is now safe to drink. Numerous utilities in many Louisiana communities were severely damaged by the storm, illustrating how many social systems can be affected by the evolution of a natural system. On a sub level, drinking water was contaminated by the failure of a human-built potable water system. On a supra-level, the economy was affected.

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