what
is...
the butterfly effect (sensitive dependence on initial conditions)...
a discovery by meteorologist edward lorenz that demonstrates how a slight alteration
in the initial conditions of a weather system (for example) affects major alterations
in the behaviour of the system. a butterfly flapping it's wings over tokyo causes
hurricanes in miami...
chaos (nonlinear dynamics)...
a scientific theory that looks at complex systems such as weather or stock markets
by mapping various patterns within the system. rather than reducing the sysyem
to it's component parts (eg watching only the market activity of ibm), chaos
examines the system as a whole, tracking repetitions and variations that occur
on different levels within the system (global markets, daily closing figures,
rates of exchange). chaos has radically altered what constitutes meaningful
phenomena in scientific study.
mandlebrot set...
commonly referred to as the most complicated mathematical object in the
universe, the set is a fractal which displays infinite and varied detail. it
is an example of how complexity can be generated by a simple act.
einstein's special theory of relativity...
the famous equation e=mc2 says that light travels at a constant rate of
speed that is independent of it's source and that time and space are not absolute
or independent phenomena. relativity argues that there are many frames of reference
from which absolute motion or rest may be determined and that no one point of
reference is superior to any other.
the second law of thermodynamics...
formulated during the mid-19th century, this law holds that although energy
can neither be created nor destroyed (the first law), not all energy within
a system is available for use. as more energy is used, entropy - or the supply
of unavailable energy - increases. thus, systems will inevitably move from a
state of order toward disorder, stability toward randomness, certainty toward
probability.
quantum mechanics and heisenberg's uncertainty principle...
both challenge the notion that scientific investigation can discern all
properties of a system. quantum deals with the fundamental instability of subatomic
particles. heisenberg proposed that we can never know with complete certainty
both the position of a particle and it's movement at the same time. at best,
knowledge is founded upon the principles of probability, not certainty.
emergence...
as we move from lower level structures such as the neuromapping of the brain
into high-level structures such as consciousness, certain properties will emerge
that can't be explained even by the most rigorous exploration of data at the
lower level. consciousness may be produced by a series of chemical events, but
it is not determined by them. emergence is a process in which the articulation
of the phenomenon is as instructive as observation of the phenomenon itself.
epistemology...
the study of how we know the world around us, how we determine the nature
of reality. to what extent, for example, does intuition, logical analysis, or
sense sensation play a part in what we think?
empiricism...
experience obtained by sensory perception is the only accurate source of
knowledge. gravity exists because we directly experience the effects of gravity.
objectivism...
external reality exists and can be ascertained through a detached and logical
consideration of facts. gravity exiists because it can be verified by scientific
experiments.
realism...
external reality exists independent of our perception of it. gravity exists
whether or not i can name or understand it.
paradigm...
a concept used by thomas kuhn to explain how and why scientific revolutions
occur. radical discoveries in science, he argues, produce radical shifts all
across the cultural terrain. newtonian physics, for example, is based on the
assumption that physical laws are logical, consistent, and predictable, given
sufficient data. in addition to revolutionizing science, newton's ideas changed
the way historians and artists and sailors saw the world. in this century, a
new paradigm has emerged. randomness, not certainty, is increasingly accepted
as the natural state of the physical world.
recursion...
the looping back of a system or statement upon itself. "this statement
is a sentence" demonstrates a simple recursion, while "this statement
is false" suggests the kind of paradox often found in more complex examples
of recursion.
self-reference...
calls attention to the instability of meaning in language. puns, metaphors,
and riddles depend upon the ambiguity of words and thereby demonstrate the futility
of using language to replicate reality...
(anna copeland - omni magazine again!)
http://www.omnimag.com
