The ’Butterfly Effect’: what is it and what does it teach us about the world?

This concept linked to chaos theory helps to understand what is happening around us.

There is a well-known Chinese folk saying that "the slight flapping of a butterfly's wings can be felt on the other side of the planet".

This refers to the fact that even the smallest things have a considerable effect, and with the passing of time it has been included in numerous fields, from serving as the main basis of various literary works to forming a relevant part of one of the most controversial and popular scientific theories or paradigms, the chaos theory.

The symbolism contained in this brief saying can be widely applicable to various realities, in what is known as the butterfly effect. what is known as the butterfly effect. It is about this effect that we are going to talk throughout this article.

Butterfly effect: what is it and what does it tell us?

The butterfly effect is a well-known effect according to which the existence of a certain action or situation can provoke a series of successive situations or actions that end up causing a considerable effect that does not seem to correspond to the situation or element that started it. end up causing a considerable effect that does not seem to correspond to the situation or element that started it..

This concept stems from the experiences of meteorologist Edward Lorenz, who generated the term in 1973 in order to explain the impossibility of making totally reliable long-term weather forecasts due to the accumulation of variables that can modify atmospheric behavior.

What the butterfly effect explains to us is that seemingly simple and innocuous alterations of a variable or action can generate massive effectsThe butterfly effect explains that apparently simple and innocuous alterations of a variable or action can generate massive effects, being the first trigger of a process that, as it propagates, acquires more and more strength. This is why it is said, in a variation of the popular saying, that the flapping of a butterfly in Hong Kong can cause a hurricane in New York: the slightest alteration in the same process can lead to very different and even totally unexpected results.

Basic part of chaos theory

The butterfly effect is a metaphor or analogy that is used as one of the pillars of the so-called chaos theory, also proposed by Lorenz, according to which there are systems in the universe that are highly sensitive to the presence of variations, which can generate very diverse (although limited) results in a chaotic and unpredictable manner.

The main model of chaos theory proposes that when faced with two identical worlds or situations in which there is only an almost insignificant variable that differentiates them from each other, with the passage of time this small difference can cause the two worlds to become more and more different until it is practically impossible to determine that they were once the same.

In this way, Thus, many disciplines are unable to generate a stable model that allows for accurate long-term predictions so that these predictions can be predictions in such a way that they are totally reliable, since small variables can vary the results to a great extent. Even the flapping of a butterfly. Thus, we must face the fact that we will always find a certain degree of uncertainty and chaos, being highly improbable the existence of a 100% sure prediction about what is going to happen: the facts may escape the possibility of prediction.

Although its high symbolic charge may seem a product of mysticism, the truth is that we are dealing with a branch or paradigm of science based initially on physics and mathematics (in fact Lorenz himself was a meteorologist and mathematician) and that allows us to explain why predictions that seemed to be very accurate and well worked can often fail. It also it also helps us to avoid total determinism and to assess and to assess the variables involved in each phenomenon, so that knowledge should not be watertight but adaptable and fluid.

Its implications on the human psyche

Although the so-called butterfly effect has been mainly linked to fields such as meteorology, the mechanism or functioning it proposes also has applicability within the discipline of psychology.the mechanism or functioning that it proposes also has applicability within the discipline of psychology. The fact that a simple flapping of wings can cause a hurricane can serve as an analogy to what happens in behavior and the human psyche.

In this sense, the butterfly effect would apply to each and every one of the decisions we make, given that no matter how small a choice may seem, it can lead to a course of action and have diametrically different results from those that would have been implied by taking another.

It is possible to see this for example within psychopathology.The following is a few examples: although a depressed person may not initially notice a great improvement by starting to take care of his daily hygiene after having neglected it for months or trying one day to eat with his family instead of eating alone in his room, this fact can generate a series of small changes that finally help him to get out of the depression that kept him isolated from the world. From there to do it more often, to decide to try other things, to go out of the house for the first time, to go back to work, to enjoy and be more active again?

The butterfly effect also influences psychology at the moment when we realize that each one of us we realize that each of our actions does not just end, but that it can havebut can have effects on ourselves as well as on the environment. An affectionate or unkind comment, a hug, a criticism, a whisper, a compliment, a bad reply... or things as seemingly trivial as greeting someone or even just looking at them, have the potential to change things for both ourselves and others.

That is why our actions must take this fact into account, so it may be necessary to assess what effects our actions or lack thereof may have on ourselves or others.

Concluding

This theory also implies that we cannot fully know the results of our actionsand that the results obtained from them may be different depending on the participation of different variables during the process. This is something that on the one hand can provoke curiosity and motivation to explore, although for others it can be a source of distress and suffering (something that may even be at the root of many disorders).

Finally, the butterfly effect also helps to explain why there are such disparate reactions to the same situation or stimulation: the conditions from which each of us start are different both biologically (genetic inheritance) and psychosocially (learning, experiences, lifestyles and coping styles...).

Bibliographical references:

• Lorenz, E.N. (1996). The Essence of Chaos. University of Washington Press.