Oh great, Exapno Mapcase. Now they know there’s a happy ending :rolleyes: 
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Hey, with most sf I read these days I’m very happy when I come to an ending! 
Your explanation certainly makes sense to me. I think I now have something to add to the epiphany post over in Cafe Society. 
The significant figures explanation is a reasonably good introductory analogy to get a sense of why chaotic systems are unpredictable even though governed by deterministic principles, but it may suggests to some that a greater refinement in accuracy of measurement or action would reduce the disorder; in truth, chaotic systems have an inherent, and indeed calculable level of unpredictabilty, at least within certain bounds. (How’s that for an overqualified explanation?) Fractal patterns in nature are an example of patterns rising from what is nominally a chaotic system by the assertion of deterministic physical principles.
It’s really hard, though, to wrap your mind around the idea that you can calculate out your problem to the nth degree but only predict the result to a finite level of refinement, regardless of how accurately you measure your inputs. I’m still trying to build up the courage to wade through Wolfram’s magnum opus, A New Kind of Science.
Stranger