Wednesday 13 November 2013

chaos theory

No one has seen chaos like I have seen chaos.  Believe me, it is true.

Chaos Theory...  the study of nonlinear dynamics.  Nonlinear, huh?  Is that like when a cat like me, walkin' in a straight line from one room to the next, does a back flip with a twist seemingly out of nowhere?  I'll tell you what came out of nowhere.  That fly came out of nowhere.  I had to catch him.  It had to be done.

Peeps have been talkin' about this Chaos Theory for years.  For more years than I have been alive.  It's a science.  It's a science that studies random events and shows how they only seem to be random.  Shows that in fact, these random events may be predictable from simple deterministic equations...   or maybe not.  I think that the maybe not part may just be part of the chaos.

I guess what they're tryin' to say is that a lack of order is only an apparent lack of order and that even though it appears to be orderless, the system containing the randomly disorderly events does, in fact, obey certain rules.  That no matter how complex a system is, it still relies upon some sort of underlying order.

Chaos Theory is supposed to be synonymous with dynamical instability.  But is it synonymouse?  And what the mouses is dynamical instability anyway?

Chaos Theory also says that a very small event can have super big repercussions.  Some guy named Edward Lorenz discovered that events can be incredibly sensitive to initial conditions.  Apparently, this Lorenz dude was one of the first peeps to experiment in the area of chaos.  Hmmm...  experiment in the area of chaos.  I'm pretty sure that my brother Seville has been applying Lorenz' theories when workin' with his whisks.

Lorenz found that even teeny tiny differences in initial conditions could make it impossible to predict past and future outcomes.  Interestin'...  This differs from Newtonian physics 'cause with Newtonian physics, one assumes that nearly perfect predictions can be made.  The more precise the measurements, the more precise the prediction.  But back to the chaos.

Anywho...  Lorenz came up with this idea he coined, the Butterfly Effect.  He suggested that a butterfly flapping his - or her - wings in Brazil could cause a tornado in Texas.  I don't know much about tornadoes and I've never been to Brazil but let me tell you 'bout somethin' that happened a little while ago at my house.

I call this, The Whisker Effect.  I have intentionally not named most of the participants in the kerfuffle in order to protect their identities.

Out on our sunbathing area which is the little roof outside the kitchen window, a cat sniffs a bug.  That bug tickles said cat's whiskers.  That first cat jumps backwards, bumping into a second cat.  The second cat fizzes at the first who ignores the fizz but a third cat is spooked by the sound and turns tail, running into the house through the open kitchen window.  The third cat jumps onto the kitchen table to escape the fizz of the second cat but lands on the flyers carelessly left there by a peep and skids across the tabletop.  The third cat regains her footing but the flyers go flyin', tumbling down onto the floor and, onto a fourth cat's head as I had been peacefully sleeping below that table.  The fourth cat is startled - of course - and jumps up, running into the family room but has to jump over a fifth cat who is asleep on the family room floor near its entrance way.  The fifth cat is awakened and fizzes at the fourth cat but it is a sixth cat who takes the fizz personally even though it's not directed at her, resulting in that sixth cat running out of the family room at high speed and knocking over a water dish on the way.  Meanwhile, a seventh cat has been wondering about the cause of all the fuss in the kitchen and the family room and has wandered over to check things out only to be splashed with water from the water dish upset by the sixth cat.  The seventh cat freaks out by the unexpected shower, spins around and sends a bowl of dry kibble flyin'.  The bowl of dry food skids across the kitchen floor leaving a trail of kibble behind.  An eighth cat - and that would be Seville -  calmly walks over to the trail of kibble and starts muching' even though he's not supposed to eat that kind of food 'cause he's supposed to eat his special special as the peep calls it, 'cause of his issues with the crystals.  Talk about chaos.  MOUSES!


From this example, we may find that the simple act of a bug ticklin' the whiskers of a cat can cause chaos and result in Seville eatin' the wrong kind of kibble.  Again I say, MOUSES!

And where exactly were the other cats in my family?  I don't know.  They were seemingly uninvolved in this particular chaotic mess of chaos.  Or were they?  Perhaps they actually started the whole thing by tellin' that bug to tickle those whiskers.  Or maybe they were just out chasin'
                                                         butterflies.

31 comments:

  1. That's quite the story!!! Wow. I'm not sure that even Lorenz would be able to define the equation necessary to predict the events of the Whisker Effect. It would probably be one of those equations that spells "Mouses" or something once you have solved it down to it's simplest form. Anyhow, I have nominated you for the Super Sweet Blogger Award. You can pick it up from my blog anytime :) http://wp.me/p3REQ0-cN

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  2. synonymouse - Where do I get one of those? MOL

    Really great post Nissy, I should have asked mew and your peeps about 'Sky' and whether it's heavy or not, as mew seem to be right up on the sciency physiks stuff... perhaps mew could peruse my post and let me know your thoughts: http://bionicbasil.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-purrsday-paw-sky-fall-sky-is.html
    Thanks Basil xx

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  3. Hmmmm
    As we are speaking of multiple cats who may or may not fizz it could be the mixed operators that influence the Nom vs. Non-Nom end Cat State.
    Just sayin.
    Timmy

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  4. Nissy
    Occasionally we have some of that theory in our house too. Yesterday Jinx caught a lizard as Mom was coming in the back door and boy howdy he took off with in to the inside of the house with Mom yellin running behind him. Yessireebob there was some chaos in our house too.

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  5. I can't tell you how many times that has happened around here. On little action sets off the whole group to go in 90 different directions. It is hysterical. Great story and sure sounds familiar. Have a good evening.

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  6. What a story ! We occasionally experimented the Whisker Effect, but we never had a scientific explanation about the chaotic results we obtained. Thank you for your wisdom ! Purrs

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  7. WOW! I thought things got Chaotic around here.

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  8. dood...we iz knot two smart on stuff but we due like de synonymouse effectz !! ...wunder if him noes anonymous... annie mouz.....anyway, grate werk seville !!!! :)

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  9. Now I can tell you that this catos theory is null and void in a house where there is only one cat! Just meowing!! :))))

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  10. Oh Gee, you just described my house on a regular basis.

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  11. We have lots of chaos here too, well beyond the theory stage!

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  12. It's the fizz that gives you whizz....not to be underestimated.
    The REAL Maple Syrup Mob xxxx

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  13. ummmm...Nissy??? is there a 'hidden' meaning to all this???...just a thought...just wonderin'....ahhhh...ya know...given all the stuff going on in the politics, human of course as no cat would be caught up in that mess...ahem...well, 'nuff said...just thought to ask..pawsome simply pawsome post...

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    1. Savvy, I can certainly understand why you might wonder 'bout that but to be honest, this was a post strictly about science. I'm sure I'll be blogging about more politics very soon though. There's just SO MUCH political material out there these days about which to blog. purrs

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  14. Love your stories Nissy! Always a treat!

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  15. Wow, Nerissa, Edward Lorenz has nothing on you! Maybe you should apply for a grant to explore this theory further.

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  16. Just one kitty is all you need for chaos. Its what we do best. We like the butterfly effect in our tummies when they flutter about in there.

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  17. Nerissa, This sounds like a Twilight Zone episode, Buddy. All it needs is some creepy music.

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  18. I should imagine with all the kitties in your house chaos reigns frequently! But one thing is for sure....everything has a cause and effect - from the smallest thing to the biggest and everything in between. Including a pesky fly.......MOUSES!

    Kitty Hugs, Sammy

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  19. Oh wow Nerissa, talk about chaos. The good news is your little adventures in chaos make quite good reading!

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  20. I can just imagine how chaotic it is there. Yikes!

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  21. ~Willy @cybercat91914 November 2013 at 13:26

    Oh Mouses Nissy your account of the Whisker Effect has left the peep here in gales of laughter and tears. I haven't seen her laugh so much. Your report of the events do demonstrate evidence of purrfect logic and order in the Cats Domain. Da peep here will be giggling all day. Thank you for the enlightenment. Willy

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  22. What a lovely story to brighten up my Friday. Thank you!

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  23. I've had my suspicions about cats and the chaos theory for some time now! This all confirms what I thought. It's simply a cat's life!

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  24. Nerissa, We just noticed you has a little light brown furs spot on your chin. The Human thinks it is delightful. Me? Eh. Whatever.

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    1. Oh yes, I've had those always. Peep #1 says it's my beauty mark. purrs

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  25. That chaotic stuff goes on around here all the time. Must be the result of your house and our house housing gobs of cats. Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.