Discord v. Celestia: The Two Universal Viewpoints

The conflict between Discord and Princess Celestia is quite possibly the most fascinating one that this series gives us. At its core, chaos versus determinism is the root of so many common themes in fiction that it is almost universal. What`s even more interesting is the fact that nature teaches us that neither one is best. The two must exist in tandem to achieve proper function of this grand system that is the universe.

For example, I like to look at snow:

Level 1: Meteorological processes are deterministic and well-ordered. The only reason that weather forecasting is not entirely accurate is that the atmosphere is one gigantic system, and even the best computers functional can`t model it perfectly and return timely results.

Level 2: Underneath macroscopic meteorological processes are the processes that form snowflakes inside a cloud. These processes are chaotic, since a cloud is a reasonably simple system to model, and yet every snowflake ends up subtly different from the others. It is next to impossible to predict the shape a snowflake will take based on the conditions of its formation. Moving farther down:

Level 3: The chemical and thermodynamic processes relating to the phase transition of liquid water into ice is well-ordered again. Thermodynamics is one of the most complete of the physical disciplines, and we are able to predict to precise accuracy the conditions under which water will freeze. Moving down again:

Level 4: The quantum physics governing how the atoms within the water molecules interact with each other is chaotic again, thanks to the uncertainty principle and the Schrodinger Equation. Any tangible prediction regarding the actions of single particles is tricky at best, and any macroscopic observation must be taken from statistical readings that average out the chaotic noise of the individual particles. Finally:

Level 5: Moving into the realm of the Standard Model, particle physics is deterministic again, even more so now that the Standard Model has been verified with the observation of the Higgs Boson earlier this year.

So we see that nature is not chaotic, nor is it deterministic. Instead, it is a sublimely layered collection of systems, an elegant arrangement of order defining chaos defining order defining chaos etc. However, such a system is ridiculously complex for artificial systems to try to understand. The works of humanity, thus, are usually composed entirely of order, or entirely of chaos. This divergence within viewpoints is expounded ad nauseum in fiction. Let me list off a few popular conflicts which are, at the root, chaos versus determinism:
- free choice v. destiny
- nihilism v. moralism
- atheism v. theism
- freedom v. conformity
- opportunism v. responsibility

Taking any one of these as a general theme in a fictitious work is really just arguing a sub-class of the core issue: chaos and determinism. That, I think, is one reason that I love to think/write about the simmering conflict between Discord and the Princess. Just as much as any of the arguments presented above can be debated on each side, so too can this conflict be done. On any given day, one could convincingly argue the side of either one of the combatants. And that's might be a reason why there is so much debate concerning the merits of the two characters in their struggle eternal struggle.