Can something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing cause a typhoon halfway around the world??

Answer 1

The "butterfly effect" is a colorful metaphor for what is called "sensitive dependence on initial conditions". This is something that shows up in the modeling of complex systems, such as weather, and explains why it is hard to make accurate predictions.

Scientists create a mathematical model of the atmosphere and run a computer simulation to see how conditions change over time. They find that a tiny change in the original conditions results in a huge difference in the outcome. This is an important part of chaos theory.

The origin of the expression, from Wikipedia:

"The term butterfly effect is related to the work of Edward Lorenz, who in a 1963 paper for the New York Academy of Sciences noted that "One meteorologist remarked that if the theory were correct, one flap of a seagull's wings could change the course of weather forever." Later speeches and papers by Lorenz used the more poetic butterfly. According to Lorenz, upon failing to provide a title for a talk he was to present at the 139th meeting of the AAAS in 1972, Philip Merilees concocted Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? as a title."

Answer 2

the not-so-publicized side of the "butterfly effect" is that if this butterfly can create a typhoon by disturbing the equilibrium of a weather system halfway around the world, there are a corresponding trillion trillion of trillion (maybe more) ways that this butterfly wouldn't have any effect on anything except for propelling a butterfly all the way around the world forwards.

this is like the grand theft auto argument... can this same butterfly make you go on a shooting spree? playing GTA has a much better chance of causing such behavior, but technically a butterfly could too. your brain is just a big bowl of chemicals that exists in a very delicate equilibrium.

Answer 3

Chaos Theory is intriguing...but I'm not so sure I believe that the flutter of a butterfly wing could cause a typhoon anywhere. But there is much unknown about our world.

Answer 4

No, that's basically a theory stating that nothing in this world is "set or certain" that everything is unbalanced and can be influenced by the most minute or smallest of things, even a tiny breeze can influence large items 10,000 miles away : ) So we need to realize that our actions do have consequences and try to act accordingly. Chaos Theory is explained somewhat in Jurassic Park 1.

Answer 5

Probably not. Outlook not good.

There are several thousand butterflies in the world and I don't thing we should be blaming them for the typhoons.

Answer 6

I would guess you at one time heard "if a train hits a fly at 60 mph, does the train actually stop even for a ??? of a second ! Can't remember the answer, but I was on a train one time and I felt a little "bump."

Answer 7

Every cough,sneeze,fart, kid blowing bubbles,millions of birds,aeroplanes,cars passing...how many typhoons, and which one of these caused it?

Everyone who has ever eaten a carrot will, or has already died!!!!!!!

Answer 8

no. if you fart will their be a tsunami in japan. duh

Answer 9

WTF?!?!