CSP 14 Chaos

Just how predictable is our universe? In this seminar, we will learn about chaos, i.e., the sensitivity of dynamical systems to small differences in initial conditions. We will also learn about the butterfly effect, period doubling, fractal dimensions, and strange attractors. Then applications of chaos theory will then be explored. We will learn how the mathematics of chaos helps us to better understand science, economics, psychology, and our environment. This course includes a rigorous writing component, and requires group work in the classroom and computational work.