Chaos: Making a New Science

Chaos explains chaos theory and the butterfly effect. For centuries, scientific thought aimed to impose order on the natural world. Even as relativity and quantum mechanics challenged this certainty in the early twentieth century, the scientific community maintained that any system, however complex, could be reduced to a simple pattern. In the 1960s, a small group of thinkers began to challenge this assumption. They highlighted tiny experimental irregularities that scientists had previously dismissed, arguing that minuscule differences in data would eventually produce massive ones. Complex systems like weather, economics, and human behavior suddenly became clearer. James Gleick presents this field of science with clarity and precision, making the science behind the world's complexity accessible to general readers. The book has sold more than a million copies.