by James Gleick
First published 1988
James Gleick explores chaos theory through the scientists who built this new field of knowledge. The book follows Edward Lorenz as he uncovers the Butterfly Effect, showing how small changes create massive consequences. Mitchell Feigenbaum calculates a universal constant that appears across different chaotic systems. Benoit Mandelbrot develops fractals, creating fresh geometry that describes natural patterns. Gleick traces how these brilliant minds converged to establish an innovative scientific direction. He makes complex mathematical concepts accessible to newcomers while revealing the personalities behind major discoveries. The narrative demonstrates how chaos theory changed our understanding of predictability and randomness. Readers gain insight into a significant wave of scientific knowledge that reshaped how we view the universe around us.
Genres: popular-science, 20th-century, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic, history-of-science
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: narrative-non-fiction, scientific-biography
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
352 pages · Paperback · Penguin Group