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Edward Lorenz dead

At age 90, the "father of chaos theory" finally jumped to a different complexity level. :)

http://www.reuters.com/article/scien...me=scienceNews

Quote:

"By showing that certain deterministic systems have formal predictability limits, Lorenz put the last nail in the coffin of the Cartesian universe and fomented what some have called the third scientific revolution of the 20th century, following on the heels of relativity and quantum physics," said Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at MIT.
"He was also a perfect gentleman, and through his intelligence, integrity and humility set a very high standard for his and succeeding generations," Emanuel added in a statement.

A true giant of thought, he was.

I remember one of my first really cool computer books was one that dealt with Complexity and Chaos. Each chapter covered a particular concept and listed an algorithm for creating a program to simulate the behavior.

It was this book that introduced me to the works of Lorenz and others and ideas such as Strange Attractors and the Butterfly Effect.

My three favorites were Life, Mandelbrot Sets, and The Hypercube. That last one really messed with your head. The 3D object on your screen was actually the shadow cast by the 4-dimensional hypercube, just like 3D objects in our world cast 2-dimensional shadows. I don't think I ever really understood what was meant by the 4th dimension being perpendicular to the three we know in everyday life.

The book also included early versions of AI, such as Core Wars, in the chapters dealing with Complexity.

Rest well, Mr. Lorenz. You opened up a fantastical new world to this youth of many years ago.