the concept: in chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
translated: one small event can drastically create waves of change somewhere else.
the history: in the vocation of man (1800), johann gottlieb fichte says “you could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby … changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole”.
translated: there is a connection within us all that we cannot even begin to comprehend.
the mathematics: the simplest mathematical framework exhibiting sensitive dependence on initial conditions is provided by a particular parametrization of the logistic map:
translated: math is extremely complicated.
the truth is, there is very little that separates us, and even more that bring us together. one of my favourite fun facts is that one about how the universe looks extremely like the human brain — the cosmos and the neuronal cells, each completely different, but incredibly alike.
its been discussed a thousand times, by scientists and fledgling writers like me alike. the built, the complexity, the way by which we are neither unable to fully grasp their existence, the manner by which we marvel at both.
the truth that no matter how much we learn, there is always something new to unearth.
and one thing we have not yet begun to understand, a concept as foreign as it is as familiar, is the concept of how something so tiny can lead to something so immense.
close to home is an easy point to begin with — a subtle lift of the cheek in greeting, an imperceptible nod, the quiet brush of the backs of hands, a simple greeting of hello. this can lead to a blossoming friendship, a potential romance, a fulfillment of life.
on a grander scale it remains consistent truth, and science has proven it to be fact. in weather, in quantum mechanics, in physical systems.
to the passive observer, life is inexplicably a series of what ifs. a decision made is always a function of other choices forgone, a yes a perpetual result of all the silent nos that came before. a current conundrum a delicate consequence of options picked.
perhaps it is not.
perhaps the choices presented us are results of what were perceived to be tiny, insignificant causes. a bumblebee carrying pollen, a finger getting pricked, the flapping of a pigeons wings.
perhaps connection is not folly, correlation also causation. perhaps there is truth to the adage that there is more than meets the eye. perhaps the words that i type will end up changing lives.
there is no concrete assurance, but certainty exists. and one day when faced with a decision so big, so incomprehensible, so immeasurably difficult to grasp; perhaps there is merit to ask: “i wonder how the butterfly is?”
Of perpetual finds 