The interactions of the innumerable complexifying systems in the universe are disturbing influences on the stability of those systems. These perturbations confuse and agitate the systems they intrude upon to a degree dependent upon the control mechanisms the system has in place designed to cope with them. The cosmic events of comets impacting a planetary satellite are substantial perturbations. These events, perhaps in conjunction with other gravitational influences, may well be sufficient to initiate an instability in the equilibrium of the orbit. The pigment discolorations in a few of the cells of a living organism may be a corruption of no consequence, but it may also be evidence of a virus intrusion against which the defense systems of the plant are quite inadequate. Whilst the growth pattern of a leaf structure may conform in some broad manner to a conceptual simplification, the number of irregular deviations from any such pattern would essentially be uncountable.

Everything perturbs everything else, to a greater or lesser degree, and thus forms the chaotic background noise of the universe. It has always been a mistake to assume that by designating certain selected parameters as significant, and designating others as less significant, any behavioural patterns so revealed in the simplified system would thereby indicate some sort of law. Conceptualizing form or pattern has always been a process of ignoring as much supposedly irrelevant detail as possible in order to simplify the infinite complexities of reality. To suppose that such a procedure would reveal deterministic laws is always unjustified. The universe is a complexity of systems being continuously subjected to chaotic interacting disorder. It is not existentially possible to isolate any aspect of it. Any behavioural pattern observed by protecting a system from the influences of indiscriminant intrusions may well function quite adequately in controlled conditions for the purposes of engineering and design. If however, sporadic disturbances occur when the system is near a critical balance, and a positive feedback is able to also reinforce a magnified effect of the instability, then the system will alter its behaviour to one which is unpredictably influenced by the disturbances.