Chaos and Dynamical Systems presents an accessible, clear introduction
to dynamical systems and chaos theory, important and exciting areas that
have shaped many scientific fields. While the rules governing dynamical
systems are well-specified and simple, the behavior of many dynamical
systems is remarkably complex. Of particular note, simple deterministic
dynamical systems produce output that appears random and for which
long-term prediction is impossible. Using little math beyond basic
algebra, David Feldman gives readers a grounded, concrete, and concise
overview.
In initial chapters, Feldman introduces iterated functions and
differential equations. He then surveys the key concepts and results to
emerge from dynamical systems: chaos and the butterfly effect,
deterministic randomness, bifurcations, universality, phase space, and
strange attractors. Throughout, Feldman examines possible scientific
implications of these phenomena for the study of complex systems,
highlighting the relationships between simplicity and complexity, order
and disorder.
Filling the gap between popular accounts of dynamical systems and chaos
and textbooks aimed at physicists and mathematicians, Chaos and
Dynamical Systems will be highly useful not only to students at the
undergraduate and advanced levels, but also to researchers in the
natural, social, and biological sciences.