The Logistic Equation and Chaos - David Lewis
22nd April 2017
You have probably heard of the great scientist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton. One of Newton's greatest triumphs was to describe the motion of bodies, be they apples or planets, by means of relatively simple deterministic equations. Deterministic means, essentially, that all the parameters of the equations are known, with no uncertain elements. Newton formulation essentially described a universe running like 'clockwork', with everything running according to his laws of motion in a regular predictable pattern. Newton's vision of an orderly world is still extremely important today, but what I want to show you today is how that vision has become somewhat distorted, ironically by the behaviour of those apparently simple, predictable, equations upon which it is based.