An example of the delusion of the universal is the worldview of the classical scientists. Classical scientists described a simple, passive world. They believed that it was possible to possess a knowledge of absolute truth. Classical scientists did not consider the concepts of randomness, complexity, and irreversibility. Galileo, a leading classical scientist, believed that science could uncover nature's global truths. Galileo ascribed to nature rational behavior and approached the relationship between humans and nature as a dialogue. For instance, in designing a system of pulleys, the classical scientist sought to overcome the perceived "resistance" of an object.
Galileo and his followers believed in the transparency of nature. Not only could the global truths of nature be deciphered, classical scientists believed that the truths could be deciphered in a systematic method using the mathematical language. As Prigogine and Stengers put it, "The simplest phenomena studied by science can thus be interpreted as the key to understanding nature as