Chaos: Making a New Science

Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz (1917-2008) developed a theoretical foundation for the predictability of weather and climate. He won the 1991 Kyoto Prize for his work in earth and planetary sciences and is best known for pioneering the field of chaos theory in mathematics. Gleick’s book focuses on Lorenz’s 1969 description of the “butterfly effect,” or the idea that small changes can have large consequences. In 1983, he and his colleague Henry Stommel were awarded the Swedish Academy of Sciences Crafoord Award for the importance of their work in “deterministic chaos.” In addition, Lorenz won the 1991 Kyoto Prize for his work in earth and planetary sciences.

Mathematician Stephen Smale (born in 1930) is known for his research in dynamical systems, topology, and mathematical economics. He served on the mathematics faculty of University of California, Berkeley, for three decades. His study of pendulums, which led to his “horseshoe” theory, is Gleick’s focus in the book.

Baron May of Oxford, Robert May (1936-2020) was an esteemed Australian scientist who served as a professor at University of Sydney and Princeton University. His early career was marked by an interest in the dynamics of animal populations. By applying mathematical techniques, he made major advances in the field of population biology (which is Gleick’s focus in the book), and his work influenced the development of theoretical ecology. He applied these tools to the study of disease and biodiversity as well.

Mathematician and polymath Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010) coined the term “fractal” and is known for his contributions to the field of fractal geometry. In addition to working for IBM for 35 years, he taught economics and applied sciences at Harvard University. His interest in the concept of infinite variations within a finite space, and his use of computer graphics to display fractal geometric images led to his 1980 discovery of how simple rules can create visual complexity, which became known as the Mandelbrot set and is the focus of the book’s exploration of his contribution to chaos science.

A mathematical physicist, Mitchell Jay Fiegenbaum (1944-2019) taught at several universities and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to study turbulence in fluids. His research contributed to the development of chaos theory through insights into dynamical systems that can generate chaotic maps, applying fractal geometry. He helped pioneer and bridge theoretical and experimental mathematics, which won him and colleague the Wolf Prize. His work showing a strange attractor following an orderly and stable set of rules is Gleick’s focus in the book.

A professor at The Rockefeller University, Albert Libchaber (born in 1934) became known for his work in experimental condensed matter physics. He conducted the first experimental observation of the bifurcation cascade that leads to chaos and turbulence in convective Rayleigh-Bénard systems by engraving microbolometers in the convective cell to observe temperature fluctuations without disturbing the environment. This work (the “Helium in a Small Box” experiment to which Gleick refers in the book) perfectly confirmed Mitchell Feigenbaum’s theoretical predictions. For this achievement, he and Feigenbaum were awarded the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1986.

A mathematician, researcher, and entrepreneur, Michael Fielding Barnsley (born in 1946) holds a PhD in theoretical chemistry. He worked on fractal compression, patented the technology, and has published books on the subject. Gleick’s book focuses on how Barnsley’s work showed that even within infinite possibilities, nature organizes itself, and fundamental patterns repeat throughout natural systems.