Chaos

If I'm able to get this post published within the next hour - someone needs to get me a hot chocolate.

Let's get to it then -

Chaos. The first time I came across the term and associated it with disorder and turmoil was through television. [No surprises there] The show was the 'Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy'

That's the one

That's the show that introduced me to the animated version of the Grim Reaper - this character:

Was there ever a time he wasn't freaking out about something or laughing maniacally? 

Anywho, this post isn't about him, rather one of his acquaintances, Eris - the goddess of chaos [Rather, the comic representation of the Greek goddess of discord]

Greek goddess...or self-righteous diva? 

Eris' role in the series is to create chaos [No surprise there] wherever she goes - it's usually up to the titular characters to clean up after her and thwart any attempts she makes, albeit with hilarious consequences.

I really like how the Greek personify such concepts as disorder, war, love and wisdom [Eris, Ares, Eros and Athena respectively] - well, personify in the terms of deities...

Chaos resides all around us, everyday we come across disorder in its various forms.

The next introduction I had to chaos was through math & science - something known as the 'Chaos Theory'.

You're not looking close enough.

The Chaos Theory is centered around dynamical systems where final outcomes are highly dependent on sensitive initial conditions. Given the example of a double pendulum, slight changes in the initial position of the pendulum results in two very different outcomes.

There's a chance you've heard of this theory through another term, the Butterfly Effect.

No, not the movie. The Butterfly Effect uses the analogy of a butterfly's flight to highlight the core concept of the theory:

The flapping of a butterfly's wings could lead to the formation of a hurricane in another area weeks later.

Though hard to believe - it shows how sensitive the dependence on initial conditions are for a non-linear system - and how small, seemingly insignificant changes in initial conditions lead to large differences in a later state.

Though that's where my understanding of the matter stops - I'll have to have a math student explain the rest to me. I came across the Chaos Theory again this year on an episode of Numb3rs [HUZZAH!] and the VSauce video 'If'.

Here's the link to the VSauce video - to people who haven't come across Michael, get acquainted with the channel! A world of awesome awaits!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBK3QpQVnaw

Now I come to a more human & psychological take on chaos.

As humans, we envision a utopian paradise - one where everyone is content, there is no evil and order prevails. Yet it seems that this 'utopia' gets pushed further away - into the distance - when one starts considering the way things are now. Has it ever crossed your mind that perhaps the only reason that this utopian state seems so unattainable is that humans require chaos to function?

Want a little chaos? Get yourself a human!

Just as the concept of 'good' cannot exist without the concept of 'evil' [Consider it: if you have no idea what 'evil' is how could you comprehend what 'good' is?], order can't exist without chaos.

Oddly enough, chaos presents humans with a chance to display their ingenuity in all its brilliant glory. There is such a thing as too much order. Even a scientist would tell you that a continued state of equilibrium isn't favoured in many circumstances. [I remember that from my Chem classes]

Then again, it really depends on what sort of chaos one might be referring to - chaos and turmoil like in the case of wars and such aren't favourable in any light. They remain negative, but if the odds are in one's favour - they lead to stability - to order.

Confusion is never a good form of chaos. Personally speaking, I've never come across a situation where confusion has had a positive outcome.

It remains, though, that chaos is - weirdly enough - central to human existence. It's what keeps us on our toes and what keeps our mental cogs spinning.

Out of the chaos comes order
And order soon falls to chaos.
One cannot exist without the other.

I shall have that hot chocolate now. With tiny marshmallows. Hold the whipped cream.

Three Little Things

Summer break is nearly over?! *gets hit with random projectile*
Alright, alright - 5 months did suffice well - err - really well!

I'm on quite a bit of a literary high [is that even a thing?] and have decided to publish more than one post this week - perhaps it should make up for the dearth of posts of late. Maybe?

So lets move on to the topic of this post - three little things - to live by


Serenity

 

Anyone who has read 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut would remember this particular excerpt from the 'Serenity Prayer' - the scene goes as such:

Billy had a framed prayer on his office wall which expressed his method for keeping going, even though he was unenthusiastic about living. A lot of his patients who saw the prayer on Billy's wall told him that it helped them to keep going, too.

God grant me
The serenity to accept
The things I cannot change,
Courage
To change the things I can,
And wisdom always
To tell the
Difference.

Among the things Billy Pilgrim could not change were the past, the present, and the future.

Taken from a satirical masterpiece [In my view], this little excerpt goes on to form one of the central themes of the book - which I shall probably discuss in another post.

Why do I identify with this?
I identify with this because it is a truth of sorts. Yes, I have heard of 'Try, try again', but at some point you have to realise that there shall always be a distinction between the things that are in your control and the things that cannot possibly be in your control.

Regarding the first part: Man might wish himself the master of his fate [this train of thought leads to also questioning one's autonomy, deserving of a different post] - but there inevitably will be times where life surprises you with a scenario you hadn't expected/planned for. Given the circumstances, you can either fight against it - or accept it and try to make the best of the situation.

Regarding the second part: We've all faced this scenario at least once in our lives - you could make a change for the better in your life - or to someone else's - except, a little sacrifice is asked of you. You wrestle with the thought - on one hand, you keep things the way they are, nothing changes, life goes on as it always has - on the other, you take a leap of faith with the chance of improving upon something with a little sacrifice and hard work. That comes from within us - it is born of courage.

Regarding the third part: This is the most important part - knowing the difference between when it's alright to take a leap of faith and when you're better off staying humble and making do with what you have.

It just seems that life would be a little better - and less stressed if people kept this in mind. Too often, I come across people who lose their calm and worry over things that they couldn't possibly control. In these cases, I'd find it better to redirect all that wasted energy to the process involved in making the best of a seemingly bad situation.


Thyself

This one has stayed with me for the longest time - and it continues to do so for a good reason.

Why do I identify with this?

I consider 'nosce te ipsum' - 'know thyself' to be one of the hardest things to achieve. You could spend your entire life trying to understand other human beings [like I do] - but the biggest challenge one could ever face is understanding oneself.

Why do you do the things you do? What motivates you? What matters most to you - and why?

Who are you?

They were the words spoken to Alexander the Great by Pythia - ringing true when he questions his ambition and the end it will take him to.
You can conquer the lands and you can conquer people - but can you conquer yourself?
It is the hardest battle one must face.

And then you have your thoughts...


Thoughts

Ah Aristotle, one of the founding figures of western philosophy and teacher of - none other than - Alexander the Great. As with many of the philosophical teachings of the time, this one rings true - perhaps truer - right now.

Why do I identify with this?

Simply because it is superb - but that's just my opinion. With the advent of the internet, telecommunication and the press, we're exposed to so many facts, figures and resulting opinions these days. People talk. It's the hallmark of the social creatures that we are - we love to form opinions and share them. Some do so more forcefully than others.

There are several ways one could handle an opinion or thought:

• Be the epitome of gullible and believe everything presented to you.
• Be inconsiderate and largely ignore anything being presented to you.
• Actively argue and refuse to entertain an opinion or thought different from your own.
• Entertain a thought or opinion - without accepting it.

I prefer the last one - because it's a good way to keep an open mind and get a variety of viewpoints regarding an issue or topic but not accept those POVs as they come. Rather, use them to arrive at one's own conclusion regarding the matter - a more thought-out one.

Extra knowledge never hurt anyone - well, it never hurt anyone I know!
[Though I suppose exceptions might include spies and civilians that stumble onto things. Oh well!]

I notice that this post doesn't quite have much text as some of the others - this is because quotes such as these hold different significances for different people!

So ponder away folks!