Definitions for butterfly effect
but·ter·fly ef·fect

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. butterfly effectnoun

   the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in Rio de Janeiro might change the weather in Chicago

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. butterfly effectnoun

   The technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Butterfly effect

   In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The term is closely associated with the work of mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz. He noted that the butterfly effect is derived from the metaphorical example of the details of a tornado (the exact time of formation, the exact path taken) being influenced by minor perturbations such as a distant butterfly flapping its wings several weeks earlier. Lorenz originally used a seagull causing a storm but was persuaded to make it more poetic with the use of butterfly and tornado by 1972. He discovered the effect when he observed runs of his weather model with initial condition data that were rounded in a seemingly inconsequential manner. He noted that the weather model would fail to reproduce the results of runs with the unrounded initial condition data. A very small change in initial conditions had created a significantly different outcome.The idea that small causes may have large effects in weather was earlier recognized by French mathematician and engineer Henri Poincaré. American mathematician and philosopher Norbert Wiener also contributed to this theory. Lorenz's work placed the concept of instability of the Earth's atmosphere onto a quantitative base and linked the concept of instability to the properties of large classes of dynamic systems which are undergoing nonlinear dynamics and deterministic chaos.The butterfly effect concept has since been used outside the context of weather science as a broad term for any situation where a small change is supposed to be the cause of larger consequences.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. butterfly effect

   The butterfly effect is a term from chaos theory, describing how small changes in initial conditions can lead to drastic differences in results in complex systems. The theory proposes that a minor action, like the flapping of a butterfly's wings, can theoretically cause large-scale phenomena such as a tornado in a different location. The concept is often applied in areas such as physics, economics, meteorology, and various scientific models to illustrate sensitive dependence on initial conditions.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Butterfly effect

   In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions, where a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state. The name of the effect, coined by Edward Lorenz, is derived from the theoretical example of a hurricane's formation being contingent on whether or not a distant butterfly had flapped its wings several weeks before. Although the butterfly effect may appear to be an esoteric and unlikely behavior, it is exhibited by very simple systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill may roll into any of several valleys depending on, among other things, slight differences in initial position. The butterfly effect is a common trope in fiction when presenting scenarios involving time travel and with hypotheses where one storyline diverges at the moment of a seemingly minor event resulting in two significantly different outcomes.

Matched Categories

1. • Consequence

How to pronounce butterfly effect?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say butterfly effect in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of butterfly effect in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of butterfly effect in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of butterfly effect in a Sentence

1. Amit Ray:

   I am a believer of butterfly effect. A small positive vibration can change the entire cosmos.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=butterfly effect
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Butterfly_Effect
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_Effect
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=butterfly effect