Chaos theory and snowflakes

The discovery that small roundoff errors in computations can cascade to cause very noticeable effects resulted in the field that is today called "chaos theory".

A common, though inaccurate in a sense, saying about chaos theory is that "A butterfly flapping its wings in China might cause a typhoon in California".

This sensitive dependence on initial conditions is illustrated in the following proverb (attributed to many sources but actual source unknown)

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost; For want of a shoe, the horse was lost; For want of a horse, the rider was lost; For want of a rider, the battle was lost.

Benjamin Franklin used this saying in his Poor Richard's Almanac.

The famous French mathematician Henri Poincaré (1854-1912) almost solved this problem in a famous contest, but it did not quite work out. He had inadvertently discovered the field of chaos, a technical term that means a sensitive dependency on initial conditions.

The famous analogy, created by Edward Lorenz (1917-2008) is of a butterfly flapping its wings in China ends up with a typhoon on the west coast of the United States. Modern weather prediction faces the same challenges. Weather (including wind) is a chaotic system that cannot be solved exactly. Instead, model approximations and many simulations are made to predict an expected weather hours, days, weeks from now. The results are never exact but are pretty good up to about 48 hours.

Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; [kjv]

η δε κεφαλη αυτου και αι τριχες λευκαι ως εριον λευκον ως χιων και οι οφθαλμοι αυτου ως φλοξ πυρος [gnt]

There are only "white" "hairs" of the "head" (Jesus), not "black" "hairs". Are any two snowflakes the exact same pattern? How are snowflakes formed?

A snowflake is created as it falls to earth in a chaotic manner - a deterministic chaos. Most are symmetric as the temperature, pressure, etc., are approximately the same at any point in space.
Note: The same argument that no two snowflakes are the same is the same argument that information (i.e., DNA via evolution) cannot arise by chance.

More: Matthew 5:33-37: Hairs of the head - yes no

Revelation 1:14

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KJV: His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

Greek: η δε κεφαλη αυτου και αι τριχες λευκαιωσει ως εριον λευκον ως χιων και οι οφθαλμοι αυτου ως φλοξ πυρος

Latin: caput autem eius et capilli erant candidi tamquam lana alba tamquam nix et oculi eius velut flamma ignis

Wycliffe: And the heed of hym and his heeris weren whijt, as whijt wolle, and as snow; and the iyen of hym as flawme of fier,

Tyndale: His heed and his heares were whyte as whyte woll and as snowe: and his eyes were as a flame of fyre:

Luther: Sein Haupt aber und sein Haar war weiß wie weiße Wolle, wie der Schnee, und seine Augen wie eine Feuerflamme

Russian: глава Его и волосы белы, как белая волна, как снег; и очи Его, как пламень огненный;

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. [kjv]

και δευτε και διελεγχθωμεν λεγει κυριος και εαν ωσιν αι αμαρτιαι υμων ως φοινικουν ως χιονα λευκανω εαν δε ωσιν ως κοκκινον ως εριον λευκανω [lxx]

Isaiah 1:18

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KJV: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Hebrew: לכו נא ונוכחה יאמר יהוה אם יהיו חטאיכם כשנים כשלג ילבינו אם יאדימו כתולע כצמר יהיו׃

Greek: και δευτε και διελεγχθωμεν λεγει κυριος και εαν ωσιν αι αμαρτιαι υμων ως φοινικουν ως χιονα λευκανω εαν δε ωσιν ως κοκκινον ως εριον λευκανω

Attempts to solve the three body problem led to the discovery of the field of chaos theory.

The inherent round-off errors in any approximation technique can lead to very similar or very different results.

A problem is classified as chaotic if there is a sensitive dependence of the result on the roundoff approximation of the initial conditions and subsequent approximation calculations.

If note cannot exactly solve the three (or more) body problem for, say, the sun, earth, and moon, how can one solve the weather problem involving trillions upon trillions of air particles.

The position and momentum and conditions of each atom cannot be known.
Even if they could be known, there is no known exact mathematical solution to the three (or more) body problem.

Physics: Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle says we cannot exactly determine the position and velocity of any particle.

Mathematics: Even if we could determine the exact initial conditions, we can not exactly solve the problem due to round-off errors. This is like taking and comparing averages of averages.

Mathematics cannot solve the problem. Is God a Mathematician?

Is that an insult to God?

Does God know more than we know?

Details are left as a future topic.

Snow is associated with winter in general and with Christmas in particular.

The song made popular by Bing Crosby called "White Christmas" talked about a Christmas with snow.

Snow (and associated cold) is mentioned more in the book of Job than in any other book of the Bible. Job takes place sometime after the Tower of Babel and the time of Abraham. It is this time, after the flood, when the Ice Age's would have taken place.

In recent times, according to Wikepedia (January 7, 2018), "The term snowflake has been used to refer to children raised by their parents in ways that give them an inflated sense of their own uniqueness.".
One way this is expressed is as "You can't say that. It hurts my feelings" (even if it is true in reality or logic).

In some ways, this has been noted before by the claim that 80% of students believe that they are above average.

In January 2017, Palahniuk claimed credit for coining this usage of snowflake, adding "Every generation gets offended by different things but my friends who teach in high school tell me that their students are very easily offended."

[offended as in feeling attacked verbally and mentally]

According to Claire Fox, members of Generation Snowflake "are genuinely distressed by ideas that run contrary to their worldview"; they are more likely than previous generations of students to report that they have mental health problems.

[confirmation bias]

Fox argues that Generation Snowflake was created by over-protecting people when they were children and she argued the emphasis on self-esteem in childhood resulted in adults "tiptoeing around children's sensitivities" to avoid "damaging their wellbeing".

[self-esteem movement]

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. [kjv]

Snow is white in that it reflects all colors of the sun, this appearing white. Note: If snow appears yellow, something might not be quite right there.

Isaiah 1:18

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KJV: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Hebrew: לכו נא ונוכחה יאמר יהוה אם יהיו חטאיכם כשנים כשלג ילבינו אם יאדימו כתולע כצמר יהיו׃

Wycliffe: And come ye, and repreue ye me, seith the Lord. Thouy youre synnes ben as blood reed, tho schulen be maad whijt as snow; and thouy tho ben reed as vermylioun, tho schulen be whijt as wolle.

It has been claimed that no two snowflakes are the same. Why is this?

Isaiah 55:9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. [kjv]

αλλ ως απεχει ο ουρανος απο της γης ουτως απεχει η οδος μου απο των οδων υμων και τα διανοηματα υμων απο της διανοιας μου [lxx]

55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: [kjv]

ως γαρ εαν καταβη υετος η χιων εκ του ουρανου και ου μη αποστραφη εως αν μεθυση την γην και εκτεκη και εκβλαστηση και δω σπερμα τω σπειροντι και αρτον εις βρωσιν [lxx]

Isaiah 55:9

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KJV: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Hebrew: כי גבהו שמים מארץ כן גבהו דרכי מדרכיכם ומחשבתי ממחשבתיכם׃

Greek: αλλ ως απεχει ο ουρανος απο της γης ουτως απεχει η οδος μου απο των οδων υμων και τα διανοηματα υμων απο της διανοιας μου

Isaiah 55:10

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KJV: For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

Hebrew: כי כאשר ירד הגשם והשלג מן השמים ושמה לא ישוב כי אם הרוה את הארץ והולידה והצמיחה ונתן זרע לזרע ולחם לאכל׃

Greek: ως γαρ εαν καταβη υετος η χιων εκ του ουρανου και ου μη αποστραφη εως αν μεθυση την γην και εκτεκη και εκβλαστηση και δω σπερμα τω σπειροντι και αρτον εις βρωσιν

Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. [kjv]

εν ιδρωτι του προσωπου σου φαγη τον αρτον σου εως του αποστρεψαι σε εις την γην εξ ης ελημφθης οτι γη ει και εις γην απελευση [lxx]

Snowflakes start with a bit of dust, just as man was created by God from dust.

Genesis 3:19

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KJV: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Hebrew: בזעת אפיך תאכל לחם עד שובך אל האדמה כי ממנה לקחת כי עפר אתה ואל עפר תשוב׃

Greek: εν ιδρωτι του προσωπου σου φαγη τον αρτον σου εως του αποστρεψαι σε εις την γην εξ ης ελημφθης οτι γη ει και εις γην απελευση

Wycliffe: in swoot of thi cheer thou schalt ete thi breed, til thou turne ayen in to the erthe of which thou art takun; for thou art dust, and thou schalt turne ayen in to dust.

According to chaos theory, the exact path of a snowflake from high in the atmosphere to its final resting place determines its exact shape. Within the very tiny localized area of each part of the journey, the temperature, pressure, and humidify vary. Since there are so many possible different paths, no two can be the same.