Chaos In Biological Systems
In today’s world of high-tech methods to study just about anything that exists, we are still imperfect. Scientists continue to look for ways to understand, explain, and even predict the actions and reactions of the universe. In the last two centuries, scientists have been looking in every possible place to understand the universe; from science, to math, even religion. They have turned to mathematicians and their strange theories of determinism and predictability. This search to understand the universe has spawned several new areas of science; there are now scientists devoted solely to the research of mere theories, such as chaos theorists.
In the twentieth century, a new area of scientific study has been created. The goal of this new science is to turn the study of real life into a more easily understood, and more mathematical formula. This new science is called Ecology. Ecology is defined as “the science of relationships between organisms and their environments” (American Heritage Dictionary). Ecologists are, in large, generally biologists with a strong mathematical basis. This is not to say that all ecologists are also mathematicians, but the math background is a major part in the ecological studies. Scientists, by nature, have always tried to make the most complex things in the universe seem as simple as possible.
“Scientists have always searched for simple rules, or laws, that govern the Universe. For example, Isaac Newton could explain how the stars appeared to move across the sky with his simple laws of motion and theory of gravitation. At the beginning of the 19th century, the famous French mathematician Pierre Simon LaPlace believed firmly in a Newtonian universe that worked on clockwork principles. He proposed that if you knew the position and velocities of all the particles in the Universe, you could predict its future for all time.” Hall 7
This new science is yet another attempt to do such a task. But, in this case, scientists have hit a few snags. In order to make a biological system into a simple, predictable formula, you must be able to count and measure every factor within that system. In ecology, however, this is nearly impossible. Because ecologists focus their studies on the relationships between organisms and their environment, everything that has an effect must be considered. This ranges from each individual ...
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...nature, we can make minor judgments, never right nor wrong. The best way to truly understand and predict any system, is to truly know why it acts the way it does. One must be able to find the root of any problem that system might have, and the causes of any positive reactions also. All in all, the entire theory of using chaos to explain biological systems is pretty much a waste of time.
· Coveney, Peter and Roger Highfield. Frontiers of Complexity. Fawcett Columbine: New York, 1995.
· Hatch, John P. “Biofeedback.” Encyclopedia of Human Biology. Academic Press: New York, 1997.
· Dupre, John. The Disorder of Things. Harvard University Press: Cambridge, 1993.
· Norton, W.W. Exploring Chaos: A Guide to the New Science of Disorder. 1991. (Used in Freshmen Seminar packet, that is hall the information you provide.)
· Gleick, James. Chaos: Making A New Science. 1987. (Used in Freshmen Seminar packet, that is hall the information you provide.)
· Clarke, George L. Elements Of Ecology. Wiley & Sons, New York: 1954.
Indirectly through out his novel, Camus compares people who rely too much on their logic and rationality, versus those who accept that our world is confusing and unpredictable. Similar to his thinking, in “Crickets, Bats, Cats and Chaos” Lewis Thomas suggests that chaos stimulates the brain and actually suggests that even crickets or cats have thoughts during chaotic or unpredictable situations. Even though I have always seen chaos as a total lack of order, a desperate situation in which an individual loses control, Thomas gave me a new concept for chaos. He says that it emerges when a system is altered by a small change or small uncertainty in its interior; chaos is then the
The development of the Chaos began with a computer and mathematic problems of random data that can calculate and predict patterns that repeat themselves. For example, it picks up the pattern of a person’s heart beat and the pattern of snowflakes hitting the ground. Researchers have found that the patterns may be viewed as “unstable”, “random” and “disorderly” they tend to mimic zig-zags, lightning bolts or electrical currents. This theory has not only been used by physicist, but has also been used by astronomers, mathematicians, biologists, and computer scientists. The Chaos Theory can be applied to predict air turbulence, weather and other underlying parts of nature that is not easily understood (Fiero, p.
Lucretius. On the Nature of the Universe. Tr. R. E. Latham. Introduction by John Godwin. Penguin Books, London: 1994.
I believe that the world is orderly and I base my assumption off of what I know from bible, astronomy, biology, and physics. I do not think the universe is chaotic, I think the world functions uniformly starting from an atomic level.
Specifically, she uses “Stoppard’s major source for his treatment of chaos theory”, Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick, to support the principles and applications that she describes within her first heading. For instance, she describes that “processes [such as weather patterns] that can be labeled as ‘chaotic’ are not random” (412). Then, she adds textual evidence by citing a quote from another primary source, a novel about Chaos Theory written by David Peak and Michael Frame, that states that “Chaos is not chance or randomness” (412). However, Vees-Gulani not only cites direct quotes from primary sources. She also cites visual aid from a primary source. Within her final section, Vees-Gulani cites a line graph created by Peak and Frame to help support her thought that “initial conditions of nonlinear systems can never be reconstructed entirely” (420). She adds two graphs side-by-side that shows the nonlinear progression of chaotic system with multiple pasts on one graph, and the linear progression of an unique past on the other. By juxtaposing these graphs, the reader can see visual aids that supports her statement that “the present state [of a chaotic system] could have developed from not just, but several possible past states”
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to investigate the various components of different ecosystems in a smaller representation and study the conditions required for the ecosystem’s sustainability as well as the connections between
Looking at the world where we live everything in someway is connected. Our world is not simple and in fact consists of multiple complex systems. Some everyday examples of complex systems are the brain, immune system, insect colonies, and even social networks such as Facebook and twitter. So what exactly do all these have in common in order to be a complex system? First is the fact that each one has a large amount of simple components that work together by communication through signals without being under leadership. But not all systems are exactly the same so we can break it down further into chaotic systems, complex adaptive systems, and nonlinear systems. Chaotic systems differ in that they are non-linear and are sensitive to initial conditions. Therefore any uncertainty in the system will not produce an outcome that can be predicted later on. A good example of a chaotic system would be the stock market because the prediction of its outcome is unknown due to its sensitivity to initial conditions. Complex adaptive systems are just like they sound. They are capable of adapting to the environment such as the immune system. It’s white blood cells work together to recognize foreign bodies and create antibodies for future encounters.
“Chaos theory proves that unpredictability is built into our daily lives.”(Crichton 313). Ian Malcolm’s words resolve the book, Jurassic Park, in a very absolute way. Throughout the book, Malcolm, spoke about chaos theory and his self proclaimed “Malcolm Effect” to explain his reasoning in his predictions. Ian Malcolm had predicted the demise of Jurassic Park even before its opening, as well as its multiple problems and difficulties. Malcolm’s theory is evidenced countless times throughout the story of Jurassic Park; dinosaurs are breeding, dinosaurs are escaping, and systems fail.
Hayles, N. Katherine. Chaos Bound: Orderly Disorder in Contemporary Literature and Science. Ithica: Cornell UP, 1990.
Newton presented that all vicissitudes in the natural world were elucidated by the doctrines of universal gravitation and the motion of bodies. Everything was thus administered by the same unbreakable laws, or mechanisms. Therefore, it is possible to compute every natural change with mathematical precision. A creation of Newtonian physics and advocate of newton’s previously mentioned, mechanistic world view, the "billiard ball" hypothesis, claims that once the preliminary conditions of the universe have been recognized, the rest of the history of the universe follows inexorably. The “billiard ball” hypothesis argues that the elementary particles of the universe function in the same manner as the rolling balls on a billiard table: moving and hitting each other in expectable ways to create anticipated outcomes. For example, if a man meets a woman and they fall in love, then according to the “billiard ball” hypothesis, their lives together will be predictable and prearranged; i.e. they will move in together, get married, and have kids, everything is already predetermined. In relation to the source, the “billiard ball” hypothesis provides a reason for the choosing of one path over the other: that, with knowledge of all the laws governing physical matter, it would be possible to calculate the time and place of the choosing of the
Chaos theory has numerous application including helping explain phenomena or helping to predict the future. Chaos theory is applicable in various fields ranging from weather, business to medicine. Chaos theory explains the reason why it is practically improbable to predict the weather with the current technology as well as providing a way for people to find patterns in the chaotic system of stock exchange. It also helps with the running of organisation by showing what sort of condition is needed for a profitable business as well as helping doctors predict when heart failure may occur. Fractals which is a concept of chaos theory also is portrayed in the natural world in examples such as lightning and neurons in the brains. Chaos theory has
in order to ascertain how it brought about Earth's thriving ecosystem and how important it
The branch of science that deals with how living things, including humans, are related to their surroundings is called ecology . The Earth supports some 5 million species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. These interact and influence their surroundings, forming a vast network of interrelated environmental systems called ecosystems. The arctic tundra is an ecosystem and so is a Brazilian rain forest. The islands of Hawaii are a relatively isolated ecosystem. If left undisturbed, natural environmental systems tend to achieve balance or stability among the various species of plants and animals. Complex ecosystems are able to compensate for changes caused by weather or intrusions from migrating animals and are therefore usually said to be more stable than simple ecosystems. A field of corn has only one dominant species, the corn plant, and is a very simple ecosystem. It is easily destroyed by drought, insects, disease, or overuse. A forest may remain relatively unchanged by weather that would destroy a nearby field of corn, because the forest is characterized by greater diversity of plants and animals. Its complexity gives it stability.
...t. The Chaos Game can be applied to create other fractals and shapes, and is a major part of an entirely separate area of study: chaos theory. The fact that the Sierpinski Triangle transcends the boundaries of fractal and number theory proves that it is an important part of mathematics. Perhaps the Sierpinski Triangle still holds secrets that, if discovered, will change the way we think about mathematics forever.
Scientists have begun to say that we have to do more to protect our ecosystem, because our very existence is depending upon it. When the ecosystem is not functioning properly the continuation of plant, animal and human life ecosystems would be impossible. Life cycles can not function without ecosystems. The ecosystem provides us with clean air, water, habitats for fish and other services. They also aid in the mod...