The Secret Life of Chaos

00:00:04 subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

00:03:24 indeed determined, by mathematical rules

00:05:34 to human intelligence.

00:08:18 No-one had done anything like this.

00:10:53 So, an area where mathematics had never been used before

00:13:20 and one of the most shameful episodes in the history of British science.

00:16:09 extract energy from sugars.

00:18:35 They contravened the fundamental laws of physics.

00:21:29 Well, the reason was all too human.

00:23:54 The more careful your measurements are today

00:26:25 seriously was the discovery of a phenomenon known as chaos.

00:29:02 the tiniest difference in the starting positions of the cogs

00:31:29 The truth of the clockwork universe turned out to be just an illusion.

00:33:47 between nature's strange power to self-organise

00:36:30 So even though I can describe each step in the process mathematically

00:39:03 Benoit Mandelbrot wasn't an ordinary child.

00:41:08 From a distance, it looks like a semi-circle.

00:43:38 he began investigating a rather curious

00:46:30 the rule that generates it, it's simple.

00:49:05 and hones them to perform almost miraculous tasks.

00:51:27 And that gives them the power to do something very special.

00:53:53 They react realistically to unexpected events.

00:56:25 amazingly complex systems without any conscious thought.

08:19:05 body was found by his cleaner.