This is another arbitrary division of the Discordian society into two basic philosophical camps. In fact, its very similar to the LDD/ELF distinction that has been made before, only I intend to look at it just a little more deeply. I want to look at basic attitudes to Chaos and how that shapes a person's perception and thinking as a Discordian. Although I'm looking at them as two separate topics, no-one is really only one or the other. Rather, people tend towards one way of thinking or the other, even if they show many of the traits of the 'opposing' system.

So first, I'm talking about Chaoticians. As the name suggests, a Chaotician has an interest in chaos that comes primarily from a metaphysical or scientific mathematical background. They may still agree that Chaos is the ultimate, the overarching descriptive term for the mix of order and disorder, but when they are required to think about the effect of chaos in the world, or use metaphors to describe it, they will almost certainly turn to ideas taken from Chaos Theory, non-linear mathematics and occasionally a nod to Nietzsche, Heraclitus, Taoism and Postmodernism. Eris is essentially “She Who Has Done it All”, either the real goddess or metaphor lurking behind the nature of reality, a personification of the Ultimate.

Hence their view of Chaos comes from an understanding of the natural world and the way in which its processes are done. As far as they are concerned, the truth of the role of chaos is both self-evident, and undeniable for anyone with the intellectual ability to understand the formula's behind it and the honesty to admit it. This view of chaos, as being an ongoing and current state of the world, where the parameters are defined but within those parameters the eventual outcome cannot be measured, occasionally breeds a certain level of passivity, although this is not always the case. The thinking is since chaos is both self-evident and ongoing, there is no need to “expose” people to it, they are exposed to it every day.

This is not always the case, based on personal inclination and sense of humour, however. The Chaotician often acts as the R&D specialist within the Discordian society, their scientific discipline allowing them to pursue new avenues of investigation, grasp new technology and understand the weaknesses of various systems. However, Operation MindFuck is not a necessary thing for them – it is something they do because they enjoy it or find it a challenge to pull off more and more intricate pranks. They may also show a high amount of interest in the occult, if not the sciences, submerging themselves into studies of Crowley, Hine, Carrol and the like.

Agents of Strife, on the other hand, concentrate on the human aspects of chaos. For them, Eris is the goddess who caused the Trojan War by rolling the golden apple, something they seek to emulate, regardless of if she is a metaphor of a real being. They see chaos in terms of wars, conflicts, disagreements and confusion, and generally work towards those ends for their own sake. A typical ploy of an Agent of Strife is “lets you and him fight”, sitting back to reap the rewards of such an encounter.

Agent's of Strife rarely openly declare who they are or their intentions, however. It is not because they fear conflict heading their way, indeed many are (somewhat perversely) more than capable of dealing with it when it arises, or carrying on a campaign of disorder on their own, but often because they understand that as a person they can only have so much individual influence, it is better to work within and against other groups, to bring about situations where their interests collide and conflict becomes an actuality.

As one would expect of people more focused on human elements of chaos, Agents of Strife more normally take an interest in political, religious and military matters (these being areas ripe for conflict) and see Operation Mindfuck as more of a duty than a Chaotician. Because they care little for the metaphysical or scientific considerations of chaos, unless they can cause mayhem among humanity, they consider exposing people to chaos as a sacred duty. They are the front line troops of the Discordian Society, as well as its spies, saboteurs and criminals. Chaos for them relies on being active within the world, and they work towards that goal always. As facilitators of chaos, they usually have a strong sense of irony.

As previously stated, I don't think anyone is purely one of these, either an Agent of Strife or a Chaotician. But it does help us understand a certain philosophical divide that does exist, between those who take that metaphysical view of chaos, and those whose view is more mayhem-centred, focusing on the human element. I think the basis of this difference is what tends to create this difference, this almost invisible dividing line in the Discordian society. I'm sure a synthesis can and does exist, its just a natural inclination towards one or the other that causes it to exist.