Recollections from the Early Days of Chaos Theory (2026)

This book traces how key figures came to study chaos theory during the 1970s and 1980s, offering a collection of personal accounts that reveal the lesser-known stories behind a scientific revolution. Contributors were invited to share how they first encountered chaos, who introduced them to it, and what drew them to this then-unconventional field. They were encouraged to reference the works that shaped their journeys, providing insight into the often-surprising paths that led to major discoveries.

With no strict stylistic constraints, each chapter reflects the individuality of the scientists, while also revealing common threads and influences that shaped the development of chaos theory. Together, these recollections offer a rare glimpse into the scientific atmosphere of the time — an era marked by curiosity, collaboration, and the rise of personal computing.

Many pivotal contributions are discussed, and the book includes rare archival materials such as photos and letters. Highlights include a 1958 group photo from Hayashi’s lab in Japan, and the first English translation of a significant Russian paper by Stepan Pulkin, whose daughter, a mathematician, contributed both the translation and personal insights.

Contents

• Preface
• Stepan Pavlovich Pulkin by Ludmila Pulkina
• Edward Lorenz’s Contribution to Chaos Theory by Christophe Letellier
• Joseph Ford: The Evangelist of (Hamiltonian) Chaos by Christophe Letellier
• The Smale Program by Ralph Abraham
• Boris Chirikov — Sputnik of Chaos by Dima L Shepelyansky
• In the Shadow of Chaos by Felix Izrailev
• My Dance with Chaos by Otto E Rössler
• Contributions to the Theory of Spontaneously Evolving Systems I: A Simple Model Class by Otto E Rössler
• Chaos People by Franco Vivaldi
• Chaos and Me by Yves Pomeau
• How I Became Involved in Chaos by Philip Holmes
• How Chaos Shaped My Academic Life by René Lozi
• My Road to Chaos by Leon Glass
• Encountering Chaos through Light, and Beyond by Kensuke Ikeda
• First Chaotic Steps by Arkady Pikovsky
• Tübingen Blues by Lars F Olsen
• From Chemical Chaos to Chaotic Brain by Ichiro Tsuda
• In Resonance with Chaos by Ulrich Parlitz
• Reminiscience of Chaos by Celso Grebogi
• From Noise to Chaos to Biology by Hanspeter Herzel
• A Knotted Road to Chaos by Robert Gilmore
• Chaos Research at the Naval Research Laboratory by Louis M Pecora and Tom Carroll

Reference

Letellier, Christophe - editor -, Recollections from the Early Days of Chaos Theory, World Scientific Publishing, 2026, 10.1142/14581