A third attractor is a notion that attempts to explain the emergence of complexity in nonlinear dynamical systems. It describes a state where an attractor basin has two attractors, one chaotic and one stable, and a third attractor state lies between them. This state can emerge spontaneously, giving rise to complex behaviors and often allowing a system to transition between different behaviors. It can also be used to explain hysteresis in systems; when the system is shifted away from its traditional attractor state, it can converge to a third attractor state until a particular condition is met for it to shift back to its earlier state.

See also: nonlinear dynamics, confirmation bias, collective intelligence, epistemic commons, game theory