When I went to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam last year, I came across an amazing phenomenon that is unbelievably real. It has to do with traffic and is similar to what one sees in Bangkok where vehicles seem to appear from everywhere. However, unlike Bangkok where there are an equal number of cars and motorbikes, Ho Chi Minh City has more bikes than cars. In fact, it will be fair to say that 85% of the vehicles on the road are motorbikes.

However, if one were to observe the traffic in both countries for a few hours, it’s not hard to notice that there’s a certain orderliness in the midst of the chaotic traffic. This observation bears a close resemblance to Chaos Theory, whereby the theory is defined as “an attempt to see and understand the underlying order of complex systems that may appear to be without order at first glance (www.answers .com). ”

When we look at our own personal lives, we will see similar observations. When members of a team brainstorm and discuss about their thoughts in class, it seems disorderly but at the end of the day,  a set of presentation slides containing the gist of their thoughts materialises. When students study for exams initially, it seems that the studying materials are everywhere. However, the students are able to find linkages between various topics for the same subject and connect the dots over time.  In online research, things seem to be a bit messy due to the enormous number of links and hyperlinks on websites. However, after some practice, we are able to separate the wheat from the chaff, yes?

Therefore, we should not be afraid of chaos. However, we should be mindful of the act of maintaining order in the midst of chaos.