The Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect is an idea that explains the effect that small changes may or may not bring to larger and complex systems. It explains how the flapping of wings of a butterfly can cause a typhoon.

The Butterfly Effect was discovered by Edward Lorenz, while studying the weather patterns. He noticed that even a small variation in initial figures can lead to entirely different final outcomes thus, leading to completely different forecasts. Hence, weather prediction models being used at that time were inaccurate due to the unavailability of accurate initial data.

For laymen, he employed the term Butterfly effect, where the initial variant in any situation is equivalent to the Butterfly flapping its wings. Now, it is impossible to accurately determine the changes it could bring in long term, which is what Butterfly effect states. 

In short, the small initial variations in a system keep amplifying exponentially in every step, which may lead to enormous changes, and great impacts. 

A famous proverb is an apt explanation of the 'Butterfly Effect'. Its poetic interpretation by Benjamin Franklin goes as:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost,

For want of a shoe the horse was lost,

For want of a horse the rider was lost,

For want of a rider the battle was lost,

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost,

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Thus, the Butterfly effect interestingly stresses the fact that every small element in this giant universe has a significant role to play. Because, a seemingly tiny shift in nature, thoughts or actions can lead to significant changes. This theory also points towards the fact that science may not be as accurate as it is considered, because a tiny variant can always cause great deviations, which may not be accurately calculated, leading to imprecise interpretations and results.