Part 2/9:
Mathematics is often viewed as a tool for searching out the order within chaos. Historically, figures such as Newton provided frameworks—the laws of motion—that suggested a predictable, deterministic universe. Such a viewpoint engendered optimism that, with enough information about the current state of the universe, one could accurately predict its future.
Yet, the emergence of chaos theory in the late 19th century challenged this deterministic outlook. Even within systems governed by deterministic laws, the unpredictability rooted in our limited knowledge of initial conditions can lead to chaotic outcomes. The complexities of natural systems demand that we develop alternative frameworks, such as probability theory, to navigate this unpredictability.