chaos theory

Every cell in the body is only one cell away from a nerve or from the blood supply. The complexity of the nervous system and the circulatory system (amongst others) is beyond comprehension.


When I was in high-school we learned that atoms were comprised of protons, neutrons and electrons and that these were the smallest things there were. But later we learned that these tiny particles were comprised of smaller particles and those of other smaller particles and so on. There is no end to this process.

If we wanted to measure the coastline of an island we could do so with a large map and bit of string. If we got a 100m tape-measure and measured the actual rocks at the waterline the increase in detail would be huge and the measurement would be greater. What if we measured each rock at ever decreasing molecular levels? The coastline of the island would nearly approach the infinite.


The world, the universe, everything is infinitely detailed. Nothing can ever be measured to a level of infallability. This is chaos theory. Chaos theory says that ultimately the universe is unknowable.

And my point? My point is for those who think they understand the world and are its masters. They are wrong. However great their understanding of the world (by way of human affairs) their knowledge will always be incomplete. As another metaphor, let's say your average mug-punter understands the world in round numbers and that those who imagine they are the world's masters might understand things to three decimal places. Doubtless, this impresses them. And it would impress me too if this knowledge was put to good use instead of impoverishing, enslaving and starving people. But the fact is that those metaphorical three decimal places are not enough.


A butterfly can make a thunderstorm. Were one to kill all the butterflies, sooner or later a bee would do the job. Perhaps one could employ super-computers to predict thunderstorms and spend one's life ducking and weaving to avoid this lethal force of nature. But eventually this effort too will fail. No computer, no matter how 'super', will ever accurately predict the weather.

The thunderstorm above is a metaphor for nemesis. Nemesis is the response to hubris. There is no nemesis for those nominated in the beatitudes. Were the bankers to expend their time, money and energy improving the lot of mankind, the thunderstorms they fear would be just another marvel of nature. They could grab a beer, sit on the verandah and enjoy the show - nobody's favourite pastime.


Speaking of marvels of nature, an image of a tiger fills my head. The bankers choose not to marvel at the tiger. They choose to ride it and subject it to their will. Such a hatred of nature is in the DNA of these masters of the world. But no one can ride a tiger forever. The only creature that can do so is a flea. And it might be a very clever flea too: it can direct the tiger; it can weaken the tiger and prevent it from removing the flea; and when the tiger dies it can migrate to another tiger. But it's still a flea, a flea that imagines it's greater than God. And God spare us such a self-impressed idiotic creature.

And one day the tiger will, perhaps even by accident, scrape off its flea. On a day unpredicted, a single impossible thunderstorm will come out of nowhere and, in a spirit of perfect impartiality, fulfil its role. For the first time in millennia the fourth decimal place will be the one that counts. Thinking twenty, thirty, forty moves ahead in a chess game is not enough for a world that is infinite. This is chaos theory. Not that we really needed it. The Buddha said it all thousands of years ago and he did it with five words - the only certainty is change.