Laws of Nature
In Our Time
00:00
Unpredictable Patterns in the Critical State
The chapter explores the dynamics of sand piles reaching a critical state, showcasing extreme unpredictability and instability. It discusses the concept of power laws governing avalanche sizes and draws parallels between sand avalanches, stock market crashes, forest fires, and world wars. The conversation dives into the challenges of predicting earthquakes and the inherent unpredictability in critical phenomena, highlighting the emergence of clear patterns when analyzing statistics of many events in complex systems.
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