Butterfly Effects…
Butterfly Effects…
Greeting dear friends & fellow navigators, welcome to my world this weekend. Further to my comments in the last two articles, have you ever thought about why you are here in your current reality? I have thought about mine, connecting the dots, & most of time I think it all makes sense.
Take, for example, my original choice of vocation. Did I regret it? Yes, initially, I even thought about taking what is now called a gap year to get into the correct one doing things like lambing in season on neighbouring farms + my Dad owned a motor garage & I could perhaps continue fixing punctures & serving petrol, or study; would be a better option than filing old records in an office which had not been done for five years… However, my mother told me to stick with it since the outcome given my skills will be most probably still be better.
Then three years later, the perceived silly mistake did not led to a pointless life. I am grateful for a satisfying career, good friends, memories, & more. Somehow, it shaped my reality, & I could not have asked for anything better.
Thinking about this over the last week, I read the story of Edward Lorenz, an American mathematician & meteorologist who examined a weather method in the 1960s. In his simulation, he rounded a decimal in one of the numbers, & the result was unexpected. It significantly diverged from the original & led to a different weather forecast. 1
He then named this phenomenon “the butterfly effect”, where tiny changes lead to a big impact. “If a butterfly flaps its wings at just the right time in just the right place, it can cause a hurricane thousands of miles away. It is the chaos theory, & it is not exactly about chaos. It is about how a tiny change in a big system can affect everything.” 2
In real history, for example, America won the Revolutionary War because of a mistake made by a German Colonel ~ Johann Rall. When he received the George Washington attack plan from his subordinate, he ignored it, being busy playing poker. The result? The German troops were defeated the following night, & the world became a different place.3
The thing is, Johann Rall did not know the consequences. We are even surprised at how playing poker could change history. Reality just happens like dominoes. What falls will touch another, & everything falls.
The Lesson? Our life is a connection between the past, present, & future. What happens right now is influenced by the past. Often, we could not understand why until what comes next. But the past always has valuable lessons. Everything has a reason behind it.
But, it does not mean we can just let things happen. We should give our best today as the reason why tomorrow should be better. Remember, even small changes matter. So, embrace current reality; then do your best. These days are yet to come if we plan to make them so.
Just few observations again dear friends, & provide merely an opinion in my world. Thank you again for stopping by, I appreciate your being here. If my journey encourages you also, all is well with my soul. I hope your days are filled with love & affection. Looking forward to being back next week; this is Kenn Butler in Paradise, Nelson with best wishes.
kenn@kennbutler.com
1 When the Butterfly Effect took Flight @ MIT Technology Review
https://www.technologyreview.com/2011/02/22/196987/when-the-butterfly-effect-took-flight/
2 Jay Asher expressed in his thought: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9758693-you-ve-heard-of-the-butterfly-effect-right-that-if-a
3 Five minor screw-ups that created the modern world
https://www.cracked.com/article_18868_5-minor-screw-ups-that-created-modern-world.html
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