Introducing Chaos: A Graphic Guide by Ziauddin Sardar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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This book provides a brief overview of the mathematical and scientific concept called “Chaos” (as opposed to the colloquial definition.) Chaos theory is most popularly associated with “the butterfly effect” in which small changes in initial conditions can result in large and / or unpredictable variations in outcome (e.g. the Houston butterfly that causes a typhoon in Hong Kong.) Chaos profoundly changed the landscape in many domains of science. Before Chaos, it was generally assumed that if one had a relatively simple model without random elements that one could make short work of developing predictions. Scientists working in Chaos discovered that this wasn’t necessarily the case, despite the intuitive appeal. In fact, one could have a relatively simple model without random elements that still resulted in irregular behaviors / outcomes.

Chaos overlaps with a number of subjects including the science of Complexity and Fractal Geometry. The book explores these connections, and gives the reader a basic understanding of how those subjects differ and what they share in common with Chaos. The book also draws examples from a number of different disciplines including meteorology, biology, city planning, etc. This is a beneficial way to broaden one’s understanding of this fundamentally interdisciplinary science.

I’ve read many titles in this series because they are available on Amazon Prime and provide readable overviews of subjects that are suitable for a neophyte reader. I found this to be one of the better titles in the series. I thought the author did a good job of explaining the concepts in clear, approachable language, aided by graphics. If you’re looking for a non-mathematical overview of Chaos theory, this is a fine book to consider.


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