Thank you for your summary of the subject of chaos, change, disorder etc as
described in Public and Academic History.  it sound like fascinating
reading.  I had originally asked for interesting, juicy, dry, pithy etc
quotes on the concept of change as I am organizing an art gallery exhibition
around the subject (it will be installed Dec. 2-4).  Part of the
interpretive display will include a wall of quotes on change.

Although some of the discussion coming out of this thread will not realize
itself on the wall, it has been fascinating to get people's take on the
(very large) subject. Thank you all.

If anyone is interested, I am keeping my quotes in a file and will be happy
to attach it and e-mail it to anyone who is interested in receiving it.

Elizabeth Kidd


At 10:29 AM 11/30/96 PST, you wrote:
>A week ago there was a post interested in putting together
>an exhibit on "change."   I lost track of who originally wanted
>to information.
>
>Phyllis K. Leffler and Joseph Brent, in their book PUBLIC AND
>ACADEMIC HISTORY: A PHILOSOPHY AND PARADIGM (Krieger Pub. Co,
>1990) discusses chaos and change.
>
>For example, they say "During the last two decades a third and
>equal controversial wave of innovation in physics has arrived
>called "chaos."   Unlike particle physics which is involved with
>"micro-events" far distant from human expereince, chaos is con-
>cerned with the "macro-event" scale of everyday human life.  Its
>grand question is how, in a universe governed by the Second Law
>of Thermodynamics and moving relentlessly toward greater and
>greater disorder, does order arise?  How does order come out of
>chaos?"
>
>They continued, "The idea underlying the image is that very
>small differences can rapidly create large-scale effects--that
>the physical world we recognize is characterized by extremely
>sensitive dependence on initial conditions, so that tiny
>changes in particular elements of a system could lead to
>large and incalculable changes in overall behavior."  (pp. 72,
>73).
>
>Does this help?
>
>john
>
>
>
>John Martinson
>[log in to unmask]
>College Place/Walla Walla, WA
>
>