Chapter 15. Dissociation and the “Volcanic Model” (2)

However, we cannot discuss in the middle of the treatment sessions, such as “If you imagine volcanic activities…..” otherwise the patients and their family members would be very puzzled and confused. Therefore, I would like to use this opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of this model and get the readers prepared for it.
The way dissociative phenomena occur is “chaotic”
Academically speaking, natural phenomena and brain activities are in a sense very similar. Both occur in a complex system and they are basically “chaotic” in the way that they occur.
The term “chaos” generally connotes a condition of great disorder or confusion. However, in science, it has a very specific meaning. It can be defined in many different ways, but here is how I understand: The movement or behavior of systems that follow deterministic laws, but on appearance it is random and unpredictable. “Deterministic” means for example movements that follow the law of classical mechanics, such as Newton's laws of motion. Chaotic motion strictly follows the law, but still appears to be very disorderly and unpredictable.
A good example is what is called double pendulum. It is a pendulum with another pendulum attached to its end. It is a very simple system, looking a little like a nunchaku. But once set in motion with a specific initial condition, its movement is impressively “chaotic” and disorderly: its movement never seems to be in a pattern of repetition. (If you happen to see it, you really understand what I mean. You can find many examples on the internet.)
This chaotic movement of double pendulum is still in a hypothetical space where the movement is determined strictly by the physical law. It is easy to imagine that double pendulum in a real world is much more disorderly and unpredictable, except that it would finally stop and become static due to friction.