When looking at the chaos
theory one of the biggest principles are attractors. There are four attractors
proposed which are point attractors, pendulum attractors, torus attractors, and
strange attractors. Another large part of the chaos theory is the idea of sensitive
dependence or small changes having larger effects. Many of us have experienced
at least one type of attractor when we reflect back on our lives and we often
have experienced sensitive dependence.
When looking at the attractors,
I can apply almost all of them to something that has happened in my life. When
doing the discussion post, I could not state all of them as I was already over
my word count, so I thought this would be a great place to do so for better
understanding. After high school, I wanted to go to a Division I school. When
weighing out my options financially, I chose to look at state schools. Once I was
accepted into the state school I was looking at, I started receiving all types
of scholarships which made my first year economical. The money I was receiving
and the lower tuition rate drew me into this school like a magnet and I knew
immediately I was going there for college. This is an example of point
attractor. In middle school, we picked our languages that we would like to
begin studying for the next couple of years. I was torn between Spanish and
French for different reasons and kept going back and forth with the pros and
cons of which to choose. This represents a pendulum attractor, because I was
going back and forth between the two. While still being a student, I feel like
my life goes around in a circular pattern. Most of the week days consist of
waking up, going to work, going to class, and doing homework for the most part.
Although these may occur in a different order or slightly change depending on
the day, the bigger picture is still the same. I would describe this as torus
attractor, because it goes in a circular pattern never repeating the exact same
day, but never leaving the circumscribed area of being a student.
One example of sensitive dependence
that a lot of us have experienced in our undergraduate careers are living on
our own. Whether on or off campus, living by yourself and not with parents is a
small change that had a larger effect. We now were making our own rules, paying
our own bills, and preparing our own food. Personally, I did not think moving
out would have such a huge impact on my life. I think the chaos theory has
principles that can be applied to our lives which makes it easier to connect to
and understand.
References
Bloch, D. (2005). Complexity, Chaos, and Nonlinear Dynamics:
A New Perspective on Career Development Theory. The Career Development
Quarterly, 53, 194-207.
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