As humans, we like to think of systems being linear, meaning we can predict what will happen if we make a change.
For example, think of playing pool. You know that if you hit the ball at a certain speed and angle, it will travel in a straight line until it hits something.
You aren’t left wondering whether the ball will go in a different direction, it will always travel in a straight line. Therefore, this is a linear system.
To sum up, linear systems are where “x causes y” and as a result, they are predictable.
But the problem is, most systems around us aren’t linear and it is very hard to predict what will happen!
Understanding non-linear physics is crucial because it explains how powerful an impact even small changes to our microbiome can have on our overall health.
We will start to explain non-linear physics next week!
You can read Part 1 here. And you can see the whole series here.
