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.
First described in the academic literature regarding a particular case of the three-body problem by Henri Poincaré in 1890, he later proposed that such phenomena could be common, for example, in meteorology, wave motion etc.
The name of the effect, coined by an American meteorologist, 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 theme 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.
Modern Origin
In 1961, Lorenz was using a numerical computer model to rerun a weather prediction, when he entered the decimal .506 instead of entering the full .506127 previously used. The result was a completely different weather scenario. In 1963 Lorenz published a theoretical study of this effect in a well-known paper called Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow. Elsewhere he said that "One meteorologist remarked that if the theory were correct, one flap of a seagull's wings could change the course of weather forever." Following suggestions from colleagues, in later speeches and papers Lorenz used the more poetic butterfly. According to Lorenz, when he failed to provide a title for a talk he was to present at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1972, Philip Merilees concocted Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? as a title. Although a butterfly flapping its wings has remained constant in the expression of this concept, the location of the butterfly, the consequences, and the location of the consequences have varied widely.
In order to unravel the mysteries of the Butterfly Effect? you will need to collect the random clues in each of the caches in the series.
All of the caches in the Butterfly Effect? series are located in close vicinity to established MTB trails that have been identified by the Baulkham Hills Shire Council. These little known but wonderful trails take you into many of the great forest areas in the Hills district. Further details and trails maps can be found at the following link.
