Chaos and order in information systems
By Sean McGrath
The word 'chaos' is an interesting example of an old word that is having its meaning reshaped by the, um, chaotic forces of change that surround us all.
In speech and in informal writing we generally use the term in the negative sense of an orderless bedlam of some sort. Few IT personnel would be happy to hear their systems described as chaotic. However, to a physicist, a chaotic system is not senseless bedlam at all. On the contrary, chaotic systems can be very simple systems that just happen to look as if they are utterly senseless when observed casually. The apparent disorder disappears once you look at the (often simple) feedback-based equations that drive the system.
Read the full article here.
The word 'chaos' is an interesting example of an old word that is having its meaning reshaped by the, um, chaotic forces of change that surround us all.
In speech and in informal writing we generally use the term in the negative sense of an orderless bedlam of some sort. Few IT personnel would be happy to hear their systems described as chaotic. However, to a physicist, a chaotic system is not senseless bedlam at all. On the contrary, chaotic systems can be very simple systems that just happen to look as if they are utterly senseless when observed casually. The apparent disorder disappears once you look at the (often simple) feedback-based equations that drive the system.
Read the full article here.
posted by ITworld Editors at 11:41 AM
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