Shed Theory

In the corner of my eye,
above the relative order
of notepads and CDs,
I can see the sad ruin
of the garden shed,
silent and crumbling
in a nettle bed.
Inside, brambles try
to make their escape,
scratching at windows
that crack and break,
held together in the embrace
of neatly spun cobweb lace.

Kim M. Russell, 2017

Shed Theory

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Weekend Mini Challenge Physics with Björn: Order in Chaos

Björn is our host this weekend and he says that one thing he remembers from his past in physics is how sensitive graduate students were to trends, throwing everything aside to read about something new that everyone was digging into (he got really excited by high temperature superconductivity and cold fusion) which he refers to as ‘trendiness among the nerdiest’! He says that when he started out, the subject a la mode was chaos theory, which he has chosen as the physics prompt for this weekend.

Björn reminds us that chaos theory is really a branch of mathematics that, in reality, means that almost anything can happen. One famous metaphor for this is the butterfly effect. Simply put: there is a certain order in chaos.

He goes on to explain that there are many physical problems that we cannot solve exactly. Detailed prediction is impossible just because of vast complexity. We all know that weather cannot be predicted in detail beyond a certain time. Neither can we predict the path a paper-boat will follow a turbulent stream. Yet we can follow in detail how a hurricane approaches. If we look into a stream, eddies can look quite stable and we can guess a likely path for the paper boat.

Björn has given us a few concepts that we can use for our (new) poems. I have chosen ‘chaos and order’ in a  ‘sonnet’ of thirteen lines.

20 thoughts on “Shed Theory”

  2. You could almost be describing my now demolished shed Kim. Invaded inside and out by throttling ivy, the very same ivy became its skeleton, holding it upright, the order in chaos. I was kind of sad to see it go…
    Anna :o]

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