It is a term based on an analogy that is used to describe that a small and imperceptible alteration can trigger enormous consequences in a complete system making it different from an identical one but without such minimal alteration.
In other words, an initial variation, however small, will generate a change through a scaling-up process whose effect will be considerably larger in the medium term. It is part of the chaos theory, where we speak of causal chains between an action and a reaction.
The butterfly effect refers to the fact that things, however insignificant and small they may be, have a massive effect over time in different areas. This concept has been the basis of literary works and scientific paradigms or scientific theories such as the aforementioned Chaos theory.
The analogy is that the simple flutter of a butterfly in one place, for example Hong Kong, could cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. The results of a simple and innocuous disturbance can lead to considerable and even unexpected results.
SYNONYMS FOR Efecto Mariposa
There are no accepted synonyms other than those used conventionally as there is a similarity in theories. Some people refer to “cause and effect” or “action and reaction” when speaking of the butterfly effect.
ORIGIN OF Efecto Mariposa
It is a concept that has its beginnings in 1973 thanks to the meteorologist Edward Lorenz, year in which he tried to explain why it was impossible to make 100% reliable long-term weather predictions. In his study he determined that the accumulation of variables insignificant to the eyes of all could modify atmospheric behavior over time.
By 1952 the concept had more recognition and repercussion, since Leonard Smith mentioned it in his work Chaos. It was in 1987 that the term gained real popularity when it was used in James Gleick’s “The Creation of a Science”.
CURIOSITIES OF Efecto Mariposa
In 2004 a movie starring Ashton Kutcher called The Butterfly Effect was released on the screen. True gem of suspense and science fiction.