By Sean Kim, VI Form

Defining Chaos

Editors’ Note: As a part of a college dorm application, Sean wrote this essay with Mr. Lubick (English faculty). Sean attempted to answer what chaos might be after several sessions of intense discussion and joint writing/editing together with Mr. Lubick. {The prompt for the application appears after the essay.}

It’s interesting to consider whether chaos can be constructive or deleterious, however, the definition of chaos in the article is insufficient. The problem with defining “chaos” is that the very word represents what we don’t really understand. What appears to us as chaotic may in fact have pattern or cause or order beyond what we understand. Chaos is in the perception of the beholder. In terms of ideas, chaos is intellectual terra incognita. In other words, any positive or negative value that we impose upon the idea of chaos originates from our limited scope of understanding of the universe. (more…)