Imagine standing on top of a mountain. From this vantage point, we can see picturesque valleys and majestic ridges below, and streams wind their way downhill. If a drop of rain falls somewhere on this ...

Nonlinear dynamical systems are systems that can undergo sudden shifts not due to changes in their state or stability, but in response to the rate at which external conditions or parameters change.

Frank Merle is used to confronting a messy world. He works on the mathematics of highly nonlinear systems—ones that respond in dramatic, unpredictable ways to even the smallest changes. It’s the same ...