Chaos and You

Ajith's solution to move the auto

While this popular comedy sequence from Tamil movie Attagasam (see image) may have been written in an attempt to create a mindlessly hilarious scene, it is also possible that the writer was hinting at Ajith's mathematical genius by demonstrating his ability to solve problems in chaotic systems. Popular American mathematician and pioneer of Chaos Theory, Dr. Edward Lorenz, in 1972 presented his work titled "Does a flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?". Well, "Could a change in the position of a rear view mirror affect the movement of an auto?" sounds less imaginative, right? 

If you are a watcher of Tamil films, understanding this scene could be the best possible introduction you could get to Chaos Theory. Take the gag where Ajith and co pull the auto from behind off. Now, it is possible that the movement of the mirror triggered disturbances of air particles next to it at the molecular level, effects of which further magnified at the engine intake valve and caused the vehicle to move. Yes, that's a terrible explanation, but a possible one. We're talking about sensitivity to initial conditions - how your bad throat caused a receptionist to lose her job, how the blink of your eye caused the power to go off, how Dhoni's run out ruined a dish in a Californian household, how the cake tasted salty because you used salt instead of sugar (okay, not as chaotic).

There's a trick speakers about Chaos Theory use - begin by making an exaggerated claim just like the pioneer himself did and later, explain how the world works this way using fairly straightforward Lorenz equations. At the receiving end, you are not amazed, you are confused, but you wonder at the immensity of possibilities that any given situation puts forward. If you are intrigued by the theory as I certainly am, you would want to know how it affects you and why these crazy claims are true.

When Dr. Edward Lorenz first described Chaos Theory at a conference, he was quick to address the drama in the title. The title, if not understood in proper context could cause misunderstanding, he remarked. In the situation described by Lorenz, he provided evidence for his claim about the flaps of a butterfly's wings in Brazil causing a Tornado in Texas several years later. The context included the presence of a countless number of other such factors during this time interval. Words spoken, words not spoken, stones thrown, flights flown, cars driven, cats running are all factors as equally likely (forgive me if this is a mathematically inaccurate claim) to cause the tornado. In short, we are in a chaotic system.  But we perceive order in this chaos, don't we? The chaos that you are in doesn't stop you from reading further, does it? And that means order exists, right? Part of this understanding lies in the fact that chaos and order are not enemies but opposites, as remarked by Richard Gariott. They're not trying to kill each other but can co-exist depending on the context.  

As Constance Kaplan, a psychotherapist who specializes on Chaos Theory in psychology said, "How we deal with it is who we are". It is this very aspect that lets us perceive order as a human being in a chaotic surrounding. The realization of the significance of self worth, faith and belief in oneself as factors influencing the outcome of situations that matter to us is the missing card, the variable that matters the most. Dhoni, in his press conference post the match against Bangladesh in the World T20 tournament remarked about "managing chaos" in the middle. His presence was perhaps the most significant variable and hence, the most likely to establish order (victory) from the chaos he was present in.

Here are a few useful links if you are intrigued.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ettre2Uz6bs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF5Wvi_Iiy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBRwjEkcVQ