Mathematics
Bifurcation in Dynamical Systems
Quick fact
In a simple population model, increasing the growth rate past a critical value can cause the population to fluctuate in a regular cycle instead of settling at a fixed size—a phenomenon that emerges from a Hopf bifurcation.
Why this is interesting
You are balancing a pencil on its tip. It stands still, but a tiny push makes it fall. What if the 'push' is a slow change in the environment? Could that single change suddenly turn a stable situation into a dramatically different one?