High Anxieties: The Mathematics of Chaos

The contemporary sense of uncertainty is traced back to its scientific roots in David Malone's hour-long BBC documentary High Anxieties, which argues that the 20th century replacement of Newtonian mathematics and physics—which certitude and predictability—with the randomness of quantum mechanics and chaos theory, led to a general loss of confidence in humankind's ability to foresee and control events, ultimately ushering in the anxieties and feelings of powerlessness that mark the modern age. Of course, historical circumstances played a role in the shift as well, and the film notes in particular the fallout of World War I, an incredibly protracted and destructive conflict that was instrumental in undermining optimism about the future and confirming the limitations of human knowledge. Although at times High Anxieties feels more like a cinematic essay—albeit a provocative and persuasive one—the film does also effectively combine archival material, graphics, and interviews with experts to trace the origin and development of chaos theory, starting with the seminal studies of Henri Poincaré and Jacques Hadamard toward the close of the 19th century and continuing through the work of Edward Lorenz, whose concept of the “butterfly effect” posits that the tiniest events can have momentous and unpredictable consequences. Explaining highly abstruse topics in accessible terms, High Anxieties is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)