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During the helicopter flight in the Jurassic Park film, Ian Malcolm says, "John doesn't subscribe to chaos, particularly what it has to say about his little science project."

Does he already know what John has waiting for them at Jurassic Park, i.e. dinosaurs, or is that just a general statement about the vague "biological preserve" description that Hammond has given Grant and Sattler?

It has been quite a while since I have read the book. I am asking about the scene in the movie, but if the book provides more context, that is great too.

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    he certainly had an idea - remember his line in the Jeep in the film: "He did it. The crazy son-of-a-bitch, he did it." Which seems to imply Malcom had some idea of what it was
    – NKCampbell
    Jun 2, 2021 at 23:41
  • @NKCampbell I haven't checked the subtitles, but I thought the line was, "You're dead. You crazy son of a bitch. You're dead." In reference to the dinosaur, not Hammond.
    – Tashus
    Jun 3, 2021 at 0:11
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    haha - no, though, the transcript I found has it as: "You did it. You crazy son-of-a-bitch, you did it"
    – NKCampbell
    Jun 3, 2021 at 0:15
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    @NKCampbell that's an answer, I think.
    – SQB
    Jun 3, 2021 at 10:59
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    @NKCampbell Also the line itself has become a famous meme now.
    – Sandun
    Jun 3, 2021 at 19:20

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28

In the novel Ian Malcolm was one of the park's earliest consultants. He insisted that it wasn't going to work even before the initial design stage.

“I think so. None of them had much to do with the island, and one of them-the mathematician, Ian Malcolm-was openly hostile to the project from the start. Insisted it would never work, could never work.”

and

“I always maintained this island would be unworkable,” Malcolm said. “I predicted it from the beginning.” He reached into a soft leather briefcase. “And I trust by now we all know what the eventual outcome is going to be. You're going to have to shut the thing down.”

“Shut it down!” Hammond stood angrily. “This is ridiculous.”

Malcolm shrugged, indifferent to Hammond's outburst. “I've brought copies of my original paper for you to took at,” he said. “The original consultancy paper I did for InGen. The mathematics are a bit sticky, but I can walk you through it. Are you leaving now?”

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    Realistically, a scientific breakthrough as revolutionary as "we brought back dinosaurs" would be almost impossible to do in secrecy. One would expect dozens to hundreds or even thousands of people to be involved, multiple papers published in reputable journals, public and/or government financing (they bought an island from Costa Rica somehow, that would be noticed), press-releases and media-hype, buzz throughout academia (both pro- and anti-), religious backlash (for playing God or whatnot), etc.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Jun 3, 2021 at 16:19
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    @DarrelHoffman - I think you're underestimating what can get done with a few motivated scientists working in secret with massive funding.
    – Valorum
    Jun 3, 2021 at 16:20
  • @Valorum Yeah, Heroshima and Nagasaki come to mind.
    – candied_orange
    Jun 3, 2021 at 20:02
  • @candied_orange that's a suspect example. Tens of thousands of people worked on it during wartime when everyone -- even the media -- accepted strict government censorship. And it was not a secret. (Thanks, Commie spies Julius and Ethel Rosenburg.)
    – RonJohn
    Jun 3, 2021 at 22:33

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