Chaos theory or when the flap of a butterfly’s wing changes everything

We all know the so-called butterfly effect. This theory is part of the essence of chaos theory, a law enunciated by James Yorke that reminds us of something essential. The world does not follow a millimetric and predictable pattern; Whether we like it or not, chaos also lives in our lives, that small space for chance where it is almost impossible to predict the effect of certain events.

It is common to associate the theory of the case with the original branches: mathematics and physics. However, we often forget that these sciences have a direct implication in our daily lives.

In fact, few paradigms have had such a direct impact on many of our areas of behavior and knowledge. What’s more, James Yorke himself summarizes the significance of his theory in a simple sentence: You have to be prepared to change plans at any time. .

However, Each of us has a degree of tolerance for uncertainty.. From a point on, our brain goes into “alert mode” against what may happen.

We prefer stability, knowing that two and two make four and what surrounds us and what we have today will continue to be with us tomorrow. All of this gives us that emotional balance with which we enjoy having everything under control.

However, chaos theory leaves us with evidence. Life and its course do not respond to the rhythmic and perfect advance of a clock. The unpredictable and uncontrollable always lives between/in us.

It is that sword of Damocles that can fall at any moment. It is that butterfly that today flutters in the United States and later arrives in Europe in the form of an economic crisis. It is that white ball that we hit in billiards and that sometimes causes the rest of the balls to disperse in unexpected directions…

Chaos theory: nature is unpredictable

Chaos theory tells us in a few words that the result of an event depends on different variables. Those whose behavior we cannot always predict with complete accuracy. There is always a margin of error, a gap for chance, a flutter that at the last moment changes everything. Because Sometimes, a small difference generates an effect of great proportions, the one whose hallmark prints every chaotic system.

There are those who say that Chaos theory makes up one of the most wonderful fields of modern mathematics. Which is the science that attempts to predict the behavior of intrinsically unpredictable systems.

We can already assume what something like this meant in its day for almost any area of ​​knowledge. Let us not forget that until not long ago the very purpose of the scientific world was to eliminate the variable of “uncertainty” in order to accurately describe the behavior of almost anything.

However, Today we accept that margin where chance and the unforeseeable can, at a given moment, change everything. In fact, this is what the meteorologist and mathematician discovered

Edward Lorenz in 1961 when he attempted to create a computer system to predict the weather. He suddenly realized that, due to a rounding error in the numbers, the entire system had begun to exhibit clearly unpredictable behavior. Later, this experience would help him formulate the famous butterfly effect.

Chaos dwells among us constantly

Chaotic phenomena abound not only in nature, they also occur in weather forecasts or even in biology. There is no area that is exempt from this unpredictable behavior.

To that needle hole where at any given moment, chance and the golden thread of the unforeseeable are threaded. Thus, all these chaotic phenomena happen every day almost without us realizing it in economics, in thermodynamics, in astronomy and even in psychology.

Today we know that any small disturbance in our brain (such as an alteration in a neurotransmitter) can lead to very drastic changes in our behavior. It’s more, Chaos theory is also assumed in psychiatry. Sometimes, when a drug is administered to a patient, there is a small probability that the observed effect will be opposite to the expected effect.

How to apply chaos theory in everyday life?

In our daily lives we all try to avoid chaos. Only in this way do we feel safe, only in this way can we build lives where the foreseeable allows us to leave home without fear, where we can look to the future with confidence. Now, as James Yorke, father of this theory, explains to us, It is best to be prepared to change plans at any time.

In some way, this principle has a lot to do with another current theory. We are talking about the “black swan” principle, stated by the essayist, economist and mathematician Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

In his recommendable book, which has the same title as his theory, he reminds us that most of us We are subject to a vision of the world where everything seems predictable at first glance. However, at a given moment the strange, the chaotic emerges… that event that we did not expect. An unpredictable event that we are forced to accept and rationalize.

However, instead of having to act when that chaos is already opening before us, the ideal would be to be prepared. James Yorke reminds us that the people who achieve success and happiness are those who always have a plan “B” in their pocket.

Let’s make an effort to develop a flexible mindset and an approach that goes beyond just reacting to events. But to assume them with curiosity and acceptance. Because many times it is in chaos where opportunities arise. Being prepared for the unexpected is, after all, moving with life’s own ups and downs.

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