From Chemical Kinetics to Models of Acquisition of Information: On the Importance of the Rate of Acquisition of Information

We propose to describe the acquistion of information by the methods of chemical kinetics, with information and knowledge likened to concentrations of chemical species. The Verhulst-like model proposed is characterized by a limiting knowledge which is specific for a given student. The assumption that time and amount of knowledge are continuous variables is more questionable than in chemical kinetics. Consideration of discrete time intervals lead to a quadratic map, showing bifurcation and chaos. The case of two interacting students is also briefly considered. The examples presented show that manageable teaching should be performed at a sufficiently small rate.