Tao of Chaos: Merging East and West

I'm a PhD mathematician with a few publications in "chaos theory" and also some experience researching in other areas Katya touches on in this book, such as molecular biology. While she plays fast and loose with terminology sometimes, I think she also makes a lot of really interesting points. I don't care much for the I Ching, but her analysis of the parallels between the I Ching and DNA are fascinating, and give some insights into the mathematical structure of both the I Ching and DNA. If she were a little more careful in her treatment of science, this could have been a five-star book. But I'll give it four stars for inventiveness and creativity. Unlike most authors writing books at the science-spirituality boundary, she's not just spouting the same old platitudes; she actually has some new things to say, albeit most of them are speculative from the scientific point of view.

Katya Walters discusses some very interesting parallels between Eastern philosophies, art, and modern science. I think this book opened my eyes to how almost everything can be understood as a rhythmic process of polar opposites. It really enabled me to understand the rhythm of things in nature including ouselves as humans. You can read an even better and interesting account of rhythm in nature (including human nature) in The Ever-Transcending Spirit by Toru Sato. Sato's book has taken this idea and applied it to a wider variety of human experiences relating to development, consciousness, and human interaction and interpersonal relationships. Nevertheless, Walters' book is still a very interesting account on the general rhythm of chaos and order and well worth a read!

Anyone who doesn't like this book does not understand it. "The answer is simply as your level of understanding makes possible", Star Trek. As a student of physics and the I Ching I could not believe someone else had been that deep in the well of Chaos and the I ching. I applaud Katya and encourage any deeply inquiring mind to check this one out. Thin threads connect great things.

As a student of eastern religions, I found the book to be a little heavy on the mathematical lingo, and a little difficult to fathom as I do not claim to be a mathemetician with a clear understanding of chaotic systems and their behavior. However, the comparison made between the I Ching and DNA is one that is intriging and is gaining wide interest in "eastern" intellectual circles. For more insights into the I Ching/DNA link, I also recommend Terence McKenna's "Invisible Landscape" and also his book "The Archaic Revival".