I received an email from Mariah, my dear friend, years ago. When she called to share an idea she was thinking about, her old email showed up later as I was searching for something. Funny how that happens! (smile) So, I wanted to share some of her message with you.
Mariah’s Note
Howdy… I’d had the butterfly effect described to me before but I just looked up what it actually is and thought it might interest you.
Phrased succinctly, the Lorenz butterfly is significant because it illustrates the concept of “sensitive dependence upon initial conditions.”
Now, you may be wondering why I am so excited about this, but it is a topic that keeps coming up in my world and the book I’m reading spent several pages talking about how we see examples of the butterfly effect in our lives.
The idea is that small events produce disproportionately large consequences owing to changes that become exaggerated as they reverberate among variables. We know this happens.
The amount of Freon released by aerosol cans and discarded refrigerators containing the gas is a pittance in the great oceans of air. Yet… because of the reaction of that pittance with ozone, Freon causes holes in the canopy that shields earth from the full force of ultraviolet rays.
OR Think how a tiny, obscure encounter between an invading virus and of your patrolling immune cells can set in motion a web of events within your bodythat determines whether you live or die.
One of t he reasons that I went to an energy conference this summer is that one of the papers being presented talked about why do people do what they do.
The presenter talked about the theory that there are two types of people, people who say, “If I don’t do it, who will? I CAN make a difference.” And there are other people who say, “Why should I do it? I am too small to make a difference.”
This theory shows mathematically that we can’t know whether what you do will make a difference but now I can actually explain to people that it is possible that what they do CAN make a difference. Now I can actually describe the mathematical theory that shows that it is possible that what they do does actually make a difference.
OK, that’s enough goodies for now. I hope you enjoy this and tell your friends that what they do does make a difference. 🙂
Butterfly Effect – What Person Are You?
Mariah is living a life of “I CAN make a difference.” She has figured out which person she is.
My question to you: Which type of person are you? (smile)
- I CAN make a difference.
- I am too small to make a difference.
Please take a step forward and allow yourself to expand your space. You are more than you know.
Remember What you do does make a difference. 🙂
Listen to Butterflies – Sketch by Cat Wilson