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butterfly effect

idea that small causes can have large effects in complex or nonlinear dynamic systems

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The butterfly effect is the idea that tiny changes in a complex system—like a butterfly flapping its wings—can eventually lead to enormous consequences, such as a distant storm. It matters because it helps explain why long-term predictions in chaotic systems like weather are nearly impossible, and why we can't always trace big events back to their root causes.

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Article

Experimental demonstration of the butterfly effect with six recordings of the same double pendulum. In each recording, the pendulum starts with almost the same initial condition. Over time, the differences in the dynamics grow from almost unnoticeable to drastic.

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