Definition of Butterfly Effect

In chaos theory it is stated that complex and dynamic systems are very susceptible to the small variations that occur in them. In this way, a small change in the initial conditions of something can imply notable differences in future behavior. When this happens we talk about the effect Butterfly. As for its name, it comes from an ancient oriental proverb according to which the fluttering of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the world.

Three simple examples

1) Let's imagine that we are trying to solve a mathematical problem. We know the formulas that we must use, but we made a mistake in a number when starting operations. The end result will be very different from what you want. And all this will have been produced by the wrong number.

2) In an atmospheric system, the slightest meteorological variation can cause the system to evolve in very different ways. In other words, a slight variation of the air it may be the factor that triggers a much bigger reaction.

3) When the second atomic bomb was about to be dropped on the Japanese city of Niigata, a small change occurred unexpectedly in the weather conditions and this caused the pilots to change their initial plans and finally decide to drop the bomb on the city of Nagasaki. That slight disturbance of the weather at that very moment the history of Nagasaki changed.

Between the scientific and the mysterious

When talking about the Butterfly effect, it is often said that totally insignificant things can generate a chain reaction that eventually transforms into something of great magnitude.

If we transfer this idea to the human context, we find a strange reality: what is apparently irrelevant has a potential incalculable. In this sense, any decision what we take or whatever thought that we have has consequences that we cannot predict. Thus, that which is supposedly banal in our lives could decide our existence.

For better or for worse the little things that happen to us generate a certain effect of change in the course of events. This reality draws our attention powerfully and that is why several films have been made about the idea of ​​the Butterfly effect. In them you can see how we are all exposed to the changes that occur around us or how certain coincidences end up conditioning our reality.

On synthesis, We are facing a phenomenon with two faces that complement each other, one scientific and the other mysterious.

Photos: Fotolia - Ckybe / Keila Neokow