Comment: There are some thoughts that managing chaos in an organization and scientific chaos theory are entirely separate disciplines. They are not as all chaotic systems exhibit the same characteristic behavior of structure and order under chaos theory. Whether a chaotic system is an organizational system or a natural system both are systems in which fundamental chaos principles apply. Therefore, a basic understanding of chaos theory at some level is necessary. There also needs to be discernment between chaos and complexity. Once these are understood then management practices, techniques, and tactics will be better understood. This post focuses on Chaos and Complexity before dovetailing into using chaos as a strategy.
Chaos and Complexity
The natural universe is consistent in scientific laws, principles, and behaviors. There is nothing different in outer space than found right here on planet Earth. There may be different arrangements and discoveries not possible in gravity or under an atmosphere but the the science remains unchanged. Human intrigue is such that when strolling through the universe, somewhere, a complex object is stumbled upon. Out of curiosity an investigation is launched to discover the order behind the complexity. After the order is understood which may or may not be chaotic, then a discussion of origins may ensue. The concern in this discussion is with complexity and order. Matters of origin are relegated to theologies, philosophies, and cosmologies which is for another discussion. Let us begin looking at chaos then complexity.
Many people associate chaos with randomness or random events. Randomness is the absence of order, structure, and patterns. Nothing under randomness can be repeatable as that would establish order, structure, and a pattern. Rand Corporation labored at this problem and developed a set of pseudo random numbers in which the pattern is pushed so far out that the set is considered random for most practical purposes (Rand Corporation, 1955, p ix). Irrational numbers are ordered having mathematical formulas that describe them. They are not random but simply cannot be expressed as a decimal; ie Pi, Euler's number, The Golden Ratio, the square root of 2, etc... Chaos Theory outright denies any notion of randomness. John Hubbard, an American mathematician, remarks that everything is highly structured, ordered, and that randomness is a red herring. The idea of randomness is just a reflex (Gleick, 1987, p. 239). An underlying premise of Chaos Theory is that all systems are perfectly ordered. That means that all systems are structured such that the system can be mathematically and algorithmically modeled or formulated. Even naturalistic beauty is mathematically structured using the the Gold Ratio. Chaos mechanics rely on fractal mathematics which do not predict system outcomes but instead model the system behavior such as circulating fluids or the bifuricating growth of a tree. Hence, chaos practice involves applied system behaviors.
Complexity is not chaos but chaos can arise from complexity. Complexity alludes to a system of intricate linear and/or nonlinear linkages between elements of an object or components under study or observation. Non-chaotic systems are said to be deterministic and/or linear. This means all the parameters are known and any instance or state can be computed with a very high degree of confidence. For example, tides, sunrise, sunset, moon phases, and even temperature. Classic Newtonian physics is a deterministic approach to science despite the vast majority of this universe is not deterministic but can be modeled using chaos practices. Thus, complexity and order are descriptive qualities of an object or system. Whereas, chaos is a behavioral quality.
A formal definition of chaos seems to allude the field. Hao Bia-Lin, a Chinese physicists, calls chaos a kind of order without periodicity. John Hubbard, a mathematician, does not like the term chaos as that implies randomness. To Hubbard, the field of study sent a message that nature can produce edifices of complexity without randomness by following rules and having limits (Gleick, 1987, p. 306). For example, a system that is bounded by the performance of a mathematical formula that describes the system's behavior. Perhaps the best non-mathematical and non-scientific explanation of Chaos is something that has observable behavior or structures that are definitive but the outcomes remain a surprise. For example, everyone knows what a tree looks like and can point a tree out quickly. However, no one can determine the direction branches will grow that shape the tree. The tree could be lopsided or grow out sideways then bend upward. The exact appearance or outcomes remain a mystery but we know its behavior will branch out, grow leaves with specific shapes and patterns, grow toward the sun, and spread roots. Likewise, we know what swirling water looks like and the jagged edge of a shoreline formed from undulating water. We know what a wave looks like as well as well a mountain range. All of these systems and things are identifiable and can be described mathematically. This goes to the extreme that in movies, computers algorithmically and mathematically paint scenes and animate creatures from dinosaurs to transformers. This brings us to another point biological or animated systems.
The naturalistic elements of biological systems demonstrate the same chaos behaviors as inanimate systems. However, there is a spirited element to most biological systems. For example, what is sexy to one human may not be sexy to another. Humans have an appreciation for love, aesthetics, comedy, theologies, and other intangibles that distinguish between the science and the art. The science of beauty is known as the Gold Ratio. Beauty in the science case of the Golden Ratio relates to harmony and unity. The art of beauty is in the mind's eye of the beholder commonly referred to as perception. Dr Donald Knuth, Professor Emeritus in the art of computer programming at Stanford, explains that aesthetics, art, and beauty are self-evident and couples this with his emotion state (Knuth, 2001, p 93). Perceptions introduce surprise and surprise is the closest to randomness in natural systems since that is where human currently reside - amidst the natural. Acting on perception and surprise is called intuition. Intuition is a quantum leap in knowledge based on missing information, a point I will return to later in these posts.
According to Donald Norman, the author of Emotional Design, the visceral, behavioral, and reflective are very different dimensions that are interwoven through out any design (Norman, 2004, p 6). Norman pulls together systematic behavior, the visceral or beauty, and the reflective or intuition into a single focus of design. If chaos can be harnessed by humans in the movies, engineering, and science then the same can be achieved in practical application for business. Hence, a strategy leveraging chaos.
In the next post, I will expand on emotional design as coupled to organizational design and chaos.
Caterinicchia, D. (2002). FCW the business of federal technology: Culture trumps technology. Resourced from http://fcw.com/articles/2002/11/03/culture-trumps-technology.aspx on 15Sep2013.
Gleick, J. (1987). Chaos: making a new science. Penguin Books. United States.
Knuth, D. (2001). Things a computer scientist rarely talks about. CSLI Publications: Stanford, CA.
Liotta, P. (2002). Chaos as strategy. Parameters, Summer 2002, pp. 47-56.
Norman, D. (2004). Emotional design: why we love or hate everyday things. Basic Books: New York.
Rand corporation. (1955). A million random digits. The Free Press: Illinois.
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