News Edward Lorenz RIP: Father of Chaos Theory Dies at 90

[turbo]

I didn't know where to put this notice, but the father of chaos theory died yesterday at his home in Cambridge at the age of 90.

 

[humanino]

Hi,

more sad news...

maybe we can correct the typo on Lorenz[/color] ?

 

[turbo]

oops! I should check my typing when posting names. Firefox underlines them as spelling errors because they're not in the spelling dictionary, and I just ignore them instead of checking. Hopefully, a mod will correct the title.

 

[humanino]

I will never forget how excited I was when, as a student, I was exploring for the first time the Lorenz attractor[/color].

edit
I stole this picture of the Lorenz attractor in another forum.
Beautiful.

 

[Danger]

It is indeed sad news. I guess that a consequence of us living when we do is that so many great minds in science did their thing so long ago that one can't expect them to be around that much longer. On the other hand, a lot of them, either directly or through spin-offs from their discoveries, are responsible for their own longevity and our current quality of life. As an example, the boost in medical science resultant of NASA space medicine research.

 

[turbo]

Thanks for fixing the title, Doc Al.

For those who might be interested in a popular-level introduction to chaos, "Chaos" by James Gleick is quite enjoyable.

 

[Danger]

"Chaos" by James Gleick is quite enjoyable.

My cousin gave me that book several years ago. Thanks for reminding me; I'll give it another read.