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Butterfly effect in popular culture

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The butterfly effect describes a phenomenon in chaos theory whereby a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome. The butterfly metaphor was created by Ray Bradbury in the 1952 short story A Sound of Thunder.[1][2] The scientific concept is attributed to Edward Lorenz, a mathematician and meteorologist who used the metaphor to describe his research findings related to chaos theory and weather prediction.[1][3]

The concept has been taken up by popular culture, and interpreted to mean that small events have a rippling effect that cause much larger events to occur,[4][5] and has become a common reference.[6][7]

Examples

The 1952 short story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury explores the concept of how the death of a butterfly in the past could have drastic changes in the future is a representation of the butterfly effect, and has been used as an example of how to consider chaos theory and the physics of time travel.[8][2] The story has since been made into a film of the same name and an episode of the television series Ray Bradbury Theater. The influence of the concept can be seen in the films The Terminator, Back to the Future,[2][9] X-Men: Days of Future Past,[10] and Cloud Atlas,[11] as well as an episode of the television series The Simpsons.[12]

In the 1990 film Havana, the character played by Robert Redford states, "A butterfly can flutter its wings over a flower in China and cause a hurricane in the Caribbean," and scientists "can even calculate the odds."[13] According to Peter Dizikes, the films Havana and The Butterfly Effect mischaracterize the butterfly effect by asserting the effect can be calculated with certainty, because this is the opposite of its scientific meaning in chaos theory as it relates to the unpredictability of certain physical systems; Dizikes writes in 2008, "The larger meaning of the butterfly effect is not that we can readily track such connections, but that we can't."[4][13]

The character Dr. Ian Malcolm played by Jeff Goldblum in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park attempts to explain chaos theory to the character Dr. Ellie Sattler played by Laura Dern, specifically referencing the butterfly effect, by stating "It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems," and "The shorthand is 'the butterfly effect.' A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine."[1][14] Other examples include Terry Pratchett's novel Interesting Times, which tells of the magical "Quantum Weather Butterfly" with the ability to manipulate weather patterns.[15] The 2009 film Mr. Nobody incorporates the butterfly effect[16] and the concept of smaller events that result in larger changes altering a person's life.[17]

The concept is also incorporated into video games, including Eve Online.[18] The 2015 video game Until Dawn features the butterfly effect as a central plot point, using the concept to describe how player choices can drastically affect the outcome of events.[19][20] The video game series Life Is Strange, first released in 2015, makes multiple references to the butterfly effect and uses it to describe how player choices affect the plot of the game.[21][22]

In addition, the webcomic xkcd published an interactive comic strip on April Fools' Day 2014, titled Lorenz, allowing the reader to choose their path through the strip; the text alludes to the butterfly effect by stating "Every choice, no matter how small, begins a new story."[23]

The Indian films Maheshinte Prathikaaram, Super Deluxe and Nannaku Prematho are mainly based on the concept of Butterfly effect.[citation needed] In the 2008 Tamil movie, Dasavatharam, the protagonist Govind (Kamal Haasan) states that the butterfly effect and chaos theory can be used to explain how a 12th-century event in South India had an adverse effect on the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.[citation needed]

"My Butterfly", an episode from the TV show Scrubs, also features two separate timelines, each influenced by a butterfly.[citation needed] Two episodes of Ugly Betty are named "The Butterfly Effect Part 1" and "The Butterfly Effect Part 2".[citation needed] The Butterfly Effect was also mentioned in The Amazing World Of Gumball in which a butterfly is let out of a jar which causes a series of events leading to a tornado.[citation needed] In the series 3 episode of Doctor Who called "The Shakespeare Code", Martha says that she's worried about that she can change the future of human race by stepping on the butterfly after landing in Elizabethan London, which The Doctor acknowledges as "I'll tell you what then, don't... step on any butterflies. What have butterflies ever done to you?"[citation needed]

Hip-hop artist Travis Scott mentions this phenomenon in his 2017 single Butterfly Effect.[citation needed]

In Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers, the Butterfly Effect is referred to as the Banana Cream Pie Paradox.[citation needed] In a first-season episode of the stop-motion animation show Robot Chicken titled "Operation: Rich in Spirit" there is a sketch where a young boy tries to explain the butterfly effect to a young girl. When the young girl squishes the butterfly, it causes earthquakes in Japan. A Japanese woman retaliates, stepping on a butterfly, which causes a volcano to erupt behind the children. The boy retaliates as well, ripping a butterfly in half, which causes Godzilla to terrorize Japan.[citation needed]

The 2020 biography of Kendrick Lamar, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America by Marcus J. Moore, chronicles "what if" moments during Lamar's life and developing career.[24]

The 2020 novel "The Butterfly Effect: A Novel" by Rachel Mans McKenny follows an entomologist who studies butterflies, reflecting on the family and romantic drama that she encounters while balancing the effects of her choices. [25]

The 2020 - 2021 YouTube video miniseries Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self by Julie Nolke incorporates the butterfly effect as a limitation on how much she can explain to her past self.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Deaton, Jeremy (February 2, 2020). "The butterfly effect is not what you think it is". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Cooper, Quentin (February 16, 2015). "The paradox of popping back in time". BBC Future. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. ^ "The Butterfly Effect Is Why It's Impossible to Predict the Weather". Discovery. August 1, 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Dizikes, Petyer (8 June 2008). "The meaning of the butterfly". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. ^ Hartl, John (January 21, 2004). "'Butterfly Effect' just doesn't fly". Today. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  6. ^ Ornes, Stephen (April 19, 2007). "Whatever Happened to... Chaos Theory?". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  7. ^ McLain, Asia (May 25, 2019). "19 People Share Their "Butterfly Effect" Stories And You Will Go, "Whoa."". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  8. ^ Flam, Faye (2012-06-15). "The Physics of Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder"". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2015-09-02.
  9. ^ Delbert, Caroline (July 30, 2020). "Quantum Mechanics Proves 'Back to the Future' Is B.S." Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  10. ^ "'The Flash,' 'Arrow' Crossover Charts Course Toward 'Tomorrow' Land (SPOILERS)". Variety. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  11. ^ Brody, Richard (November 1, 2012). "Synchronized Banality: "Cloud Atlas"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  12. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (April 26, 2019). "Breaking Down the Complicated Time Travel in Avengers: Endgame". TIME. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  13. ^ a b Dizikes, Peter (February 22, 2011). "When the Butterfly Effect Took Flight". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  14. ^ Clader, Emily (13 August 2014). "Did chaos cause mayhem in Jurassic Park?". Plus Magazine. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  15. ^ Stewart, Ian (23 March 2015). "Five Things Discworld Will Teach You About Science". IFL Science. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Van Dormael prepares 'Nobody'". Variety. February 12, 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ^ Kenigsberg, Ben (October 31, 2013). "Mr. Nobody". A.V. Club. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  18. ^ "EVE Online 'Butterfly Effect' Trailer". Shack News. December 1, 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  19. ^ Takahashi, Dean (August 25, 2015). "In Sony's Until Dawn interactive horror game, the player becomes part of the narrative". VentureBeat. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  20. ^ Dunn, Matthew (August 25, 2015). "Until Dawn follows theme of survival horror movie by immersing players in a nerve-racking scenario". News AU. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  21. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 23, 2015). "Watch: Life is Strange Dev Talks Time-Travel Butterfly Effect in New Video". GameSpot. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  22. ^ Gailloreto, Coleman (August 11, 2020). "What Tell Me Why Could Learn From Life is Strange". ScreenRant. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Lorenz". xkcd. April 1, 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  24. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (October 12, 2020). "The Butterfly Effect by Marcus J Moore review – hobbled by jargon". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  25. ^ Mans McKenny, Rachel (December 8, 2020). "The Butterfly Effect by Rachel Mans McKenny". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 16 Jun 2021.
  26. ^ Ifeanyi, KC (April 15, 2020). "This comedian warning her past self about COVID-19 hilariously nails how ill prepared we were". Fast Company. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
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