Editorial March 26, 1990 Issue

Out of chaos, order

Michael D. Rissler

• A tension runs throughout life. People want both order and relief from order. We want sufficient order so that we aren't wholly disoriented by events. We want just enough disorder—or variety—so that we and our lives are spontaneous, not merely a dull repetition.

• A lawyer comments that the Golden Rule—"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"—is essential. Without it we would be unable to anticipate anything from others. There would be disorder, conflict, loss of trust. Without the order of the rule, there would be chaos.

In layman's language, such ideas might serve as an introduction to an actual new science called "chaos." Peopled by physicists, mathematicians, meteorologists, biologists, and others, the science of chaos looks at apparently random events and seeks to determine if there is an underlying order that is not at first obvious.

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