Some elements for a history of the dynamical systems theory

Abstract

Writing a history of a scientific theory is always difficult because it requires to focus on some key contributors and to "reconstruct"some supposed influences. In the 1970s, a new way of performing science under the name "chaos"emerged, combining the mathematics from the nonlinear dynamical systems theory and numerical simulations. To provide a direct testimony of how contributors can be influenced by other scientists or works, we here collected some writings about the early times of a few contributors to chaos theory. The purpose is to exhibit the diversity in the paths and to bring some elements - which were never published - illustrating the atmosphere of this period. Some peculiarities of chaos theory are also discussed.