What is a bifurcation point

What is a bifurcation point

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The world always is in a condition of randomness and uncertainty, adherents of synergetrics consider. Terms of this science are more and more widely used not only in physics, but also in social and philosophical fields of knowledge. The term "bifurcation point" came from synergetrics to scientific use. What is behind this sophisticated concept?

What is bifurcation

The term "bifurcation" is used in scientific literature rather widely and freely today. Such formal transfer of values from natural sciences in humanitarian quite often leads to substitution of concepts. Meanwhile this pretty specific term makes special sense which, however, can be interpreted depending on a context.

The word "bifurcation" comes from the Latin term designating division. It is used in natural sciences when want to describe high-quality reorganization of any given object and the related metamorphoses.

When the system develops evolutionarily, its state depends on one or several parameters which can smoothly change. But sometimes one of characteristics finds critical value, and the system at the same time enters a stage of cardinal high-quality change. That moment at which the mode of changes in a system reconstructs and is called a bifurcation point. And at the same time understand reorganization of a system as bifurcation. What occurs if the system changes continuously? In this case so-called cascades of bifurcations which consistently each other replace are observed.

The description of these system changes represents one of scenarios of transition from simple to difficult, from the ordered movement to chaotic.

Bifurcation point as moment of truth

Describing a system as the sequence of the bifurcations replacing one another it is possible to create model of development of any more or less complex system, whatever area of knowledge it treated.

Points of bifurcation can be observed not only in biological and physical, but also in economic and social systems.

In terms of the ordinary the transition of a system through a point of bifurcation can be compared to behavior of the person or a living organism in a situation where only one of choice many options is possible. Here the hero can be a striking example at the crossroads who stopped in thoughtfulness before a stone with index inscriptions. Before the thoughtful soldier three ways open two or even, each of which has equivalent value for the traveler. What road will be chosen by the hero, depends on some random factor, in advance whom it is impossible to predict emergence at all desire. The athlete, speaking to synergetrics language, is in a bifurcation point. Here even the wave of a wing of a butterfly can be crucial and become the reason of global change.

Author: «MirrorInfo» Dream Team

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