Martes, Oktubre 29, 2013

Blog Post 7: Déjà vu and Butterfly Effect


One of the greatest series of American thriller films is Final Destination. It is a movie series wherein the main character always experienced precognitive dreams or déjà reve and tries to save his or her love ones from death. One of the interesting concepts of this movie is the chain of death. Someone has a vision that results in a small group of people avoiding a major catastrophe that would otherwise have resulted in their deaths. Then, because it was “Death’s Design” for these people to die, one by one they start dying in freak accidents.
The death of the characters in the movie usually started with small actions and results to extremely complex effect. This phenomenon is called “Butterfly Effect”. According to the article of Wise Geek entitled “What is Butterfly Effect?”, this phenomenon explains how small things that were unrelated to different things or condition can affect large and complex systems. This concept was suggested by the mathematician and meteorologist, Edward Norton Lorenz.  This idea is most commonly used in modern parlance to suggest that one small change can cause a ripple of various effects. Also, they believe that the flap of the butterfly’s wings in South America can affect the weather in Texas.

Another article related to the butterfly effect is “Concepts:Butterfly Effect” by Yaneer Bar-Yam. It explains that the flip of the wings of the butterfly can have large, widespread consequences. For example, the large storm in England may be caused by the butterfly wing flap in China. In addition with this, the article states, “It is not established experimentally that sensitivity in weather extends as far as a butterfly flap of a wing. Even though mathematical models suggest that such things in principle might happen, there is no confirmation of this effect. Nevertheless, the lack of predictability of the weather and the existence of amplification due to feedback is clear in weather patterns. Understanding where and when and the degree of sensitivity is an active area of research.”
Like in the movie series Final Destination, the main character always experience déjà vu, and later on, he or she will try to save their friends from death. The cause of death usually comes from unrelated things then results to large tremendous accident.
As a conclusion, we imagine the butterfly effect would explain things in everyday life. However, it may also reveal more than an overeager impulse to validate ideas through science. It speaks to our larger expectation that the world should be comprehensible - that everything happens for a reason, and that we can pinpoint all those reasons, how big or small they may be. But nature itself defies this expectation. It is probability, not certain cause and effect, that now dictates how scientists understand many systems, from subatomic particles to storms. People who get small things can make a big difference.
                                                                                                                         






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