Perceived Order From Chaos

Chaos is the total lack of organization, and is characterized by disorder. Chaos is ubiquitous, and we humans are uncomfortable with the notion of a seemingly random universe with no discernable pattern or logic. We do not like disorder or chaos, and this is evidenced in our ceaseless necessity to categorize everything into clearly defined and explainable compartments. And when an unexplainable phenomenon presents itself, we turn to religion for answers to the innumerable mysteries that abound. “People need to believe that order can be glimpsed in the chaos of events” (Gray). However, as attested throughout history, these brief glimpses of order have turned out to be erroneous, and rather than providing knowledge, have merely perpetuated our ignorance. Several knowledge issues then arise: Why do we need order, and can the true order of things be apprehended? Do these glimpses serve a purpose even when they are erroneous must be asked? Is it enough that people believe they have glimpsed order? Mathematics and the natural sciences are the prime examples to convey the general belief that order can be glimpsed, and these two areas of knowledge are filled with examples of the erroneous knowledge that have been derived from them.

Fundamentally, mathematics is an area of knowledge that provides the necessary order that is needed to explain the chaotic nature of the world. There is a controversy as to whether math is invented or discovered. The truth is that mathematics is both invented and discovered; mathematics enable mathematicians to formulate the intangible and even the abstract. For example, time and the number zero are inventions that allow us to believe that there is order to the chaos that surrounds us. In reality, t...

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...ce, if this were scientific knowledge that apparently is not true, it would still be considered an item of order, a false one. However, if the false scientific data is currently acceptable, then our mindset and way of thinking remains unchanged, but, in the final analysis, science or technology cannot develop in the long term with false scientific information. The false scientific truth would have temporary impact on our lives, since we would notice there is a disorder with this false information and someone would challenge it and replace it with more accurate information. In fact, when we discover that this knowledge is in reality, false, we would fix it and progress further in the fields of science and technology, and our lives would therefore be greatly influenced in the short and long term.

Works Cited

Citation

Gray, John. Heresies. UK: Granta, 2004. Print.