Toan

It was almost a decade ago when I first read in the Inquirer an article about The Study of Non-linear Dynamical Systems or The Science or Theory of Chaos. (Curious about how that study developed, I tried looking for it in the web.) According to this study, “chaos theory can explain how small random events may affect large ecosystems in an unpredictable way.” An example used to illustrate one of the properties of the systems which could fall under the field covered by the study is the “butterfly effect”. It is “so called because of the title of the paper given by Edward Lorenz in 1972 to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. entitled Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas? The flapping wings represent a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.” To those interested for additional reading about this theory, you could search for it in the Internet. I copied the quoted pieces above from the Wikipedia article on “chaos theory”.

At first glance, the theory is nothing more than a subtle admission by scientists of their limitations. Of course, being a science, certain parameters had to be set to give it a semblance of credibility. But I don’t care about the math and the science which have been copiously injected in support of the theory. (They’re blurred for me anyway.) Some natural phenomena could really never be explained. How could we ever predict which formations the clouds above may take on a particular time or on certain conditions? How could we know how productive a certain business venture will be at its planning or beginning stages? The STUDY, on the pagano’s point of view is plain nonsense.

However, precisely, because of my being a pagano, the STUDY could actually prove to be solidly relevant to the life that I live, or to the lives of those who existed before me. If a scientist at this modern time is still wondering if the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could wreak havoc in Texas, couldn’t our pagan ancestors’ thoughts have flowed along the same lines? Couldn’t they have thought, “Maybe if we butchered a hen today, the rain will come sooner?” “Or how about if we tried a cock?”

What would seem to be purely traditional rites, and which could easily be misinterpreted as acts arising from ignorance about nature could yet be proven to be valid. Our ancestors’ ways of coping with the unknown could, in the future, be proven (ironically, by scientists) to be legitimate after all. Comic.