Seven Life Lessons of Chaos : Timeless Wisdom from the Science of Change

The predicament of all life is uncertainty.

While humans have had to deal with chaos since ancient times, only recent has science recognized it as a fundamental force in the universe.

Chaos, theory, originally used to understand the movements that create thunderstorms, raging rivers, and hurricanes, is now being applied to everything from medicine to warfare to social dynamics and theories about how organizations form and change. Chaos is evolving from a scientific theory into a cultural metaphor. As a metaphor it allows us to query some of our most cherished assumptions and encourages us to ask fresh questions about reality.

Our modern society has been obsessed with conquering and scientifically controlling the world around us. However, chaotic, nonlinear systems--such as nature, society, and our individual lives--lie beyond all our attempts to predict, manipulate, and control them. Chaos suggests that instead of resisting life's uncertainties, we should embrace the possibilities they offer.

In this groundbreaking new book, John Briggs and F. David Peat unfold seven lessons for embracing chaos in daily life:

1. Be Creative: how to engage with chaos to find imaginative new solutions and live more dynamically

2. Use Butterfly Power: how to let chaos grow local efforts into global results

3. Go with the Flow: how to use chaos to work collectively with others

4. Explore What's Between: how to discover life's rich subtleties and avoid the traps of stereotypes

5. See the Art of the World: how to appreciate the beauty of life's chaos

6. Live Within Time: how to utilize time's hidden depths

7. Rejoin the Whole: how to realize our fractal connectedness to each other and the world

If you ever felt your life was out of control and headed toward chaos, science has an important message: Life is chaos, and that's a very exciting thing.

John Briggs, Ph.D., is a professor of English and the journalism coordinator at Western Connecticut State University. He lives in Danbury, Connecticut.

F. David Peat holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Liverpool and has written dozens of books on art, science, and spirituality. He lives in London and can be reached at www.fdavidpeat.com. They are the authors of Turbulent Mirror.

John Briggs, Ph.D., is a professor of English and the journalism coordinator at Western Connecticut State University. He lives in Danbury, Connecticut.

F. David Peat holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Liverpool and has written dozens of books on art, science, and spirituality. He lives in London. They are the authors of Turbulent Mirror.