Spatial structures can form in stochastic dynamic systems due to near-zero-probability events: (comment on “21st century: what is life from the perspective of physics?” (Usp. Fiz. Nauk 180 337 (2010) [Phys. Usp. 53 327 (2010)]) by G R Ivanitskii)

This letter is aimed to briefly highlight the fact that, along with many probabilistic models (including the random graphs and chains currently in wide use), there is a direct universal approach to describing the formation of stochastic structures with probability unity in random media (in ‘chaos’), i.e., in almost all random field realizations. The mathematical level adopted is accessible to early undergraduate students. It can thus be concluded that clustering in chaos is not only a physical phenomenon but also a universal phenomenon inherent in nature—with some provisos, of course.