3. What is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations?

4. For what company had Benoit Mandelbrot been working in economics, studying distribution of various incomes in the economy when he was invited by Houthakker to speak at Harvard?

5. What paper did James Yorke publish in 1975 concerning chaos?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Lorenz's work influence James Yorke in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

2. When and where was the National Meteorological Center founded in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? What existed before it?

3. What variable changed the outcome in the experiment described by Thomas S. Kuhn in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?

4. Describe the weather simulator discussed in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect." What weather conditions did it create?

5. What did Benoit Mandelbrot and Hendrik Houthakker agree on about the chart in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

6. How is Edward Lorenz described in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? Where was he working at the time?

7. What psychological experiment does Thomas S. Kuhn describe in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?

8. How is a Cantor set described in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

9. In Chapter 2, "Revolution" Gleick refers to the pendulum as being the laboratory mouse of chaos, the new science. What metaphorical examples does Gleick give for other great scientists in this chapter?

10. How did the role of chaos theory affect ecologists in the 1970s as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the lives and works of Gustav Mahler and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and analyze their influence on Mitchell Feigenbaum. What work of Goethe's is quoted in the book?