Nonlinear and Complex Dynamics in Real Systems

This paper was produced for the El-Naschie Symposium on Nonlinear Dynamics in Shanghai in December 2005. In this paper we provide a review of the literature with respect to fluctuations in real systems and chaos. In doing so, we contrast the order and organization hypothesis of real systems with nonlinear chaotic dynamics and discuss some techniques used in distinguishing between stochastic and deterministic behavior. Moreover, we look at the issue of where and when the ideas of chaos could profitably be applied to real systems.