Butterfly Effect

The term "Butterfly Effect" is related to the work of Edward Lorenz, based in Chaos Theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions, first described in the literature by Jacques Hadamard in 1890 and popularized by Pierre Duhem's 1906 book. 

The concept of the Butterfly Effect is frequently referred to the novelty of a minor change in circumstances which causes a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent events. For instance, the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil could potentially set off a storm in Texas. In essence, the "Butterfly Effect" theory suggests that the power released by a butterfly's wings can amplify over time to eventually affect weather patterns thousands of miles away. 

In today's class, an invited speaker highlighted the concept of "Butterfly Effect" through real-life examples, where a simple causal remark by a person started a negative chain of events that lead to someone losing his job! It suggested close links with the "cause-and-effect" theory where complex sequences arose from a primary catalyst and different factors are combined together to form the outcome.