“You could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby … changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole.”
— Fichte, The Vocation of Man (1800)
Does a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?
Edward Lorenz, a mathematician once asked this question in a lecture, and it got me thinking.
How can something so tiny have such a profound effect?
Well, the butterfly effect is the notion that little, seemingly insignificant occurrences can have nonlinear effects on extremely complex systems, ultimately leading to something with far larger repercussions.
For instance, when a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, that tiny change in air pressure could eventually cause a tornado in Texas!
Take the 2004 movie The Butterfly Effect for example. Ashton Kutcher’s character in the movie finds a way to travel back in time to his childhood. And every time, he alters several little things, but those minor adjustments end up having a big (and terrible) impact on his adult life.
So if you think about it, EVERYTHING you do matters. Every move you make and every action you take matters, not only to you but to everyone that’s part of your life and organisation today, tomorrow and even after you’re gone.
One flap at a time…
