Nature is the embodiment of science and mathematics. From the Valentine's grouse to the Thomasina leaf to human interactions, mathematics transcends the boundaries of simple numbers and symbols to create models that work to explain the universe. Yet, paradoxically, nature's most constant form is its unpredictability. In his play Arcadia, Tom Stoppard examines this conundrum: he demonstrates that amidst the rigid structure of models and equations, there are unavoidable variables that create chaos that makes it impossible to completely predict the future or recreate the past. Through the coexistence of disorder and order in the room, Stoppard integrates deterministic chaos theory into iterated algorithms to describe the limits of human knowledge. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The laws of Newtonian mechanics dictate a rigid, predetermined structure to the universe. Because an atom lacks many variables in its behavior in space and time, Thomasina claims that if one "arrests each atom in its position and direction", then a "formula for the whole future" can be obtained (5). Thus, in the absence of noise or errors, the universe follows Newton's laws; there is a unique formula that calculates and gives the exact state of the atom at any time with complete certainty. The future and the past can be determined. Nevertheless, facets of everyday life, “ordinary sized things,” are sensitive to the “noise” of nature; while trying to develop a universal formula for grouse population changes, Valentine struggles because "the actual data is complicated" (46). The algorithm he aspires to acquire is too simple; it seeks to predict the grouse population at a given time. However, the algorithm can be affected by various natural variables, such as “interference” from “foxes” or “weather” (45). Foxes can halve the population one year, while a rainy season can double it the next. The grouse population deviates at some point from the expected value of the algorithm and it cannot be predicted accurately. Although natural variables may follow the patterns of determinism, each variable follows its own formula; the culmination of these formulas creates uncertainties in the algorithm that destroy the essence of its structure and patterns, creating an unsolvable nonlinear equation. Therefore, Valentine “cannot monitor everything” and his algorithm must provide only a generalized extrapolation and estimate of the grouse population each year (46). It can never predict the true value of the grouse population at a specific time. Unlike Valentine's search for an algorithm for nature's grouse population, Thomasina uses her iterated algorithm to produce her apple leaf. As she plots each point in her equation, she “never knows where to expect the next point” (47). Each recursion results in an unpredictable location for the point. However, over time, after thousands of iterations, she began to notice an unfolding pattern of the leaf fractal. Despite the fractal patterns, Thomasina will never know where the next point will be; the diagrams can only give him a guess, but the truth will always be unknown. Additionally, due to the unpredictability of the points, the iterated algorithm can only create patterns that produce the shape of the leaf, but Thomasina can never obtain the complete image and representation of the leaf itself. According to Valentine, the.