The Future

Order Out of Chaos

Many factors or "wild cards" contribute to forecasting a possible future. Many futurists have likened these wild cards to the "butterfly effect" of chaos theory. The premise in the butterfly effect is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Singapore could cause a rippling effect that would eventually lead to a hurricane in the Caribbean. The premise behind chaos theory is that there can be order to chaos. The beauty of fractals is based upon this premise. Out of the chaos in today's world, we have found several trends: Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, technology fusion, and our technologically dependent world economy. We must finally ask where are these trends leading us and how might they impact education?