Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!uwvax!oddjob!mimsy!aplcen!jhunix!ins_atge
From: ins_atge@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU (Thomas G Edwards)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: The future of AI
Summary: Probability
Message-ID: <6627@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: 2 Jul 88 21:38:50 GMT
References: <712@inria.UUCP> <8806300425.AA05873@bu-cs.bu.edu>
Reply-To: ins_atge@jhunix.UUCP (Thomas G Edwards)
Organization: Johns Hopkins Univ. Computing Ctr.
Lines: 18

Again, getting back on the "Chaos Express," I think we are going to
have to change our ideas of "random" and "probability" for the future.

Chaos has shown us that seemingly random results can be derived from
very simple non-linear equations (see the mandelbrot set for a fine
example).  The tenet of Chaos is that small changes in initial
parameters can have incredibly huge effect on non-linear systems,
even seeming random though _they are deterministic_.

Furthermore, it states that due to this, micro level deterministic
events creat undpredicatble large level realities.  But a mandelbrot
set is still the same everytime your run it...so one has
determinism, with the addendum that although systems may be
predicted in terms of chaotic attractors (general recurring
patterns), they may not be predicted in exactness.

-Thomas Edwards
 ins_atge@jhuvms