Catastrophe Theory

René defends his mathematical theory’s ability to predict history.

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Student: Can you give us a definition?

René: It’s the loss of stability in a dynamic system.

Student: And can you give us an example?

René: Well, a river flowing along suddenly drops into a catastrophic waterfall.

Student: Catastrophic for the river or the swimmer?

René: Both. But the maths can also predict why stockmarkets jump around. That’s its use in the financial markets.

Student: Have you used it to buy stocks?

René: I’m more interested in applying it to history. Here, this calculation shows that the French Revolution was the precipitating factor for France caving in so quickly when Germany last invaded us.

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Voiceover

Typical pattern of presenting an idea.

(1) Provide a definition.

(2) Give examples.

René Thom’s Catastrophe Theory got a lot of attention in the 1970s until it became difficult to apply it to scenarios involving more than five variables.

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