Three-Winged Bird

A Chaotic Strange Attractor

This image records the journey of a system in chaos. A simple non-linear equation went through millions of iterations.

The result of each iteration was plotted in three-dimensional computer phase space. As the system evolved in a totally random fashion, over time the shape of the system emerged. Chaotic strange attractors reveal the order inherent in chaotic systems, order that is only visible over time and history.

(Image by Mario Markus and Benno Hess, Max Planck Institute, Dortmund, Germany; From Leadership and the New Science, Margaret J, Wheatley)