Chaos Theory

On Dinosaurs, Chaos, And Jurassic Park

The movie Jurassic Park was once an international sensation. It was wildly received by the public and grossed over 700 million dollars worldwide in its initial run. Virtually all the movie-going public in the United States had seen it and it made millions more when it was released on video. It set a new standard for public entertainment with its thrilling special effects which, for an instant of suspended belief, brought long-extinct dinosaurs back to life.

Yet beyond the standard Hollywood stock of thrills and chills, there was a deeper and more poignant message which is expounded in greater detail in Michael Crichton’s eponymous book. Jurassic Park questioned not the feasibility of dinosaur regeneration through genetic engineering, a remote possibility, but the ethical question of whether it should be attempted at all. It also questioned whether man was equipped to harness the forces his technology was poised to unleash.

Michael Crichton, who also co-wrote the screenplay, introduced to the public a little-known but important mathematical theory which has vast implications and was being made widely known for the first time: Chaos.

A Chaotic World: A New Reality

Chaos theory deals with predictability in complex systems. The main thrust of Chaos theory is that traditional mathematical models fail to accurately predict phenomena in complex systems. For example, computers were first developed to predict the weather over half a century ago. Yet even with the most complex computer systems, it is still impossible to accurately predict the weather. Even if you were to let drops of water fall on the precise same spot on your hand repeatedly, each drop would behave differently than the one which preceded it due to a multiplicity of factors ranging from microscopic skin imperfections to minute changes in water flow.

Man’s record in predicting and controlling complex systems is abysmal. Witness the mess he has made of the earth’s ecosystem and the environmental tragedy engulfing the planet.

A Grave Miscalculation

Even though mankind has not been able to accurately predict whether it will rain next month, people have been more presumptuous in their belief that they can take on the most complex of all systems and try to provide a solution for it: human life. Scholars, philosophers, and ideologues have presumed to provide the answers that have perplexed mankind since time immemorial. Yet nothing has proved more difficult and elusive than providing a system of life for human beings that does not end up in injustice, misery, and social disintegration.

All great ancient civilizations believed that theirs was the pinnacle of progress and development, in hindsight a colossally preposterous assumption considering that most were built on brutality and slave labor. This country, also, in trying to maintain its international reputation as the fortress of justice and democracy, downplays the role slavery and the near-annihilation of the American Indian had in the building of its empire.

Islam in a Chaotic World

Muslims, on the other hand, do not consider it a fault if they, of their own force of intellect, cannot provide the crucial answers to life. They acknowledge their own ignorance and realize that something so vast and complicated is beyond their ability to grasp.

Therefore, in humility, they turn to the Creator of this immense universe Who alone knows the hidden mysteries of life. Through the Prophets (peace be upon them all), Allah, Lord of all the worlds, has provided mankind with the answers to the most perplexing questions and has gifted His creatures with a system of life in consonance with their own true nature.

Islam is such a wonderful and perfect solution precisely because man had nothing to do with its formulation. As the movie Jurassic Park showed, man was not prepared to cope with the forces his technology had unleashed. How much more valid is his ignorance when it comes to himself and how much greater the need to recognize his limitations and submit himself wholly to the One Who designed and fashioned him and is closer to him than his jugular vein?