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The Idea of the “Edge of Chaos”

What is Chaos?

A mathematics-based system is chaotic if it displays unpredictable
turbulence that is highly sensitive to differences in initial conditions
even though those initial conditions are totally determined.

Known colloquially as the butterfly effect, small differences in initial
conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical

computation) yield widely diverging outcomes rendering long-term
prediction of their behavior impossible in general as it is impossible to
measure initial conditions with accuracy especially in business. The
unpredictability is linked to positive feedback loops over multiple

repetitions.

Chaotic behavior exists in many natural systems, such as weather and
climate. It also occurs spontaneously in some systems with artificial
components, such as road traffic.

In business, the mathematical aspects of chaos theory are largely lost

and it has come to signify the more prosaic idea of perceived
turbulence and unpredictability with the added idea of
'opportunity' as the established order is disrupted.

What is "The Edge of Chaos"?

The central conceit of the 'edge of chaos' construct is that 'life' exists at

the border between order and chaos or rather between equilibrium
and turbulence. It was originated by mathematician Doyne Farmer to
describe the transition phenomenon discovered by computer
scientist Christopher Langton examining the behavior of a cellular

automaton.

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