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| − | The '''Butterfly effect''' is the essence of [[Chaos Theory]]. It holds that a system can be sensitive to initial conditions. Systems, such as the [[weather]], can become unstable over time, giving rise to the notion that a [[butterfly]] flapping its wings in [[New York]] can cause a [[hurricane]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref>http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/beffect.html</ref> | + | The '''Butterfly effect''' is the essence of [[chaos theory]]. It holds that a system can be sensitive to initial conditions. Systems, such as the [[weather]], can become unstable over time, giving rise to the notion that a [[butterfly]] flapping its wings in [[New York]] can cause a [[hurricane]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref>http://www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/beffect.html</ref> This argument has been used by proponents on both sides of the [[global warming]] [[debate]]. |
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| − | ==In Popular Culture== | + | ==In popular culture== |
| | The butterfly effect is usually found in [[science fiction]] stories and [[movies]]. It describes the possibility of a person traveling back in time, and inadvertently changing some minuscule thing in the past — such as [[murder|killing]] a [[butterfly]] — that has momentous consequences as time goes by, so that the he returns to a radically altered [[future]]. | | The butterfly effect is usually found in [[science fiction]] stories and [[movies]]. It describes the possibility of a person traveling back in time, and inadvertently changing some minuscule thing in the past — such as [[murder|killing]] a [[butterfly]] — that has momentous consequences as time goes by, so that the he returns to a radically altered [[future]]. |
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| | *''[[It's A Wonderful Life]]'' | | *''[[It's A Wonderful Life]]'' |
| | *''[[Back To The Future]]'' | | *''[[Back To The Future]]'' |
| − | *''[[Frequency]]'' | + | *''[[Frequency (movie)|Frequency]]'' |
| | *''[[The Butterfly Effect]]'' | | *''[[The Butterfly Effect]]'' |
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| − | The [[Butterfly]] effect was also a central theme of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[short story]] "A Sound of Thunder", in which a man travels back in time to hunt [[dinosaur]]s, and inadvertently shoots a [[butterfly]] by mistake. This scenario, while plausible enough as a [[science fiction]] story, could certainly never happen in real life. | + | The [[butterfly]] effect was also a central theme of [[Isaac Asimov]]'s [[short story]] "A Sound of Thunder", in which a man travels back in time to hunt [[dinosaur]]s, and inadvertently shoots a [[butterfly]] by mistake. This scenario, while plausible enough as a [[science fiction]] story, could certainly never happen in real life. |
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| | ==See also== | | ==See also== |