Ron Baken

Nonlinear dynamical systems (chaos) theory: Basic principles for the math phobic and voxophilic professional

Interest in the applicability of “nonlinear dynamical systems theory” —more commonly called the “theory of chaos”–to a better understanding of vocal dysfunction continues to increase, and for very good reasons. The core of chaos theory is not particularly difficult to understand if one is receptive to a different conceptual framework (and if one does not have to master the mathematics!). In this tutorial we’ll explore the fundamental concepts of chaos theory (and of some related issues) in the context of voice production. We’ll talk about state spaces, attractors, embedding dimensions, Poincaré sections, and fractals, among other new concepts, in an informal way. Our goal is to develop a basic “intuitive” grasp of this novel perspective. Math-phobes need not fear: there’ll be no equations.