Unknown Effect

The effect something can have on someone is unknown.

One word can change the world, but one can destroy what remains.

One song can generate endless tears, but one can destroy what remains.

Many can cause the end of one, and One can cause the end of many.

The butterfly effect can be claimed as the reason everything is the way it is. Had X not happened, Y wouldn’t be the way it is.

X could have done a lot to make Y, or X was a simple change that created Y.

Y could be a good change or a bad change. But these tiny tiny changes have made the present.

To dispute, this is strange, as you can easily say to yourself ‘had I done this instead of this, things would be different’.

One missed mark could be the difference between an A grade and a B grade. That B grade that you got meant you couldn’t make it to your first choice of university. But, you met the girl of your dreams at university, something that wouldn’t have happened if your path wasn’t interrupted.

To calculate or control the future is something that could also be paired with insanity. Although, I won’t deny that I do try.

‘You can’t blame the butterfly effect for the current situation’ but then what do you blame?

A world without X is unimaginable to the world we live in. Even if one person never existed, life would change.

An infinite number of universes, every action creates an infinite number of possibilities.

The words I use in this post create infinite new universes.

There is one where the next paragraph contains the word:

Apple.

And there is one where the next paragraph contains the word:

Orange

There is also one where they are swapped around, where Orange comes before Apple. But, there is also one where this post doesn’t exist.

There is one where this post rests in the drafts till the end of time or one where this blog never started.

The outcome of what would have changed based on Orange coming before Apple is probably tiny and insignificant to the bigger picture, but let’s just assume.

Had Orange come first, perhaps those who enjoy orange juice would keep reading. Even if it seems stupid to say that someone would only read something based on what fruit juice they like, there are a number of possibilities, so to exclude one no matter how unimportant it seems, is also stupid.

There are some real-world examples of the butterfly effect, particularly regarding the circumstances around a child’s birth.

9 months isn’t perfect, and perhaps the slight earliness or delay of the birthday could have a major effect.

But to speak in a wider example.

World War 2 brought a large number of refugees into various countries. Had these people not escaped their homes, they wouldn’t have had the life they do now. They wouldn’t have met their lover and they wouldn’t have had their children.

There is a whole other argument about consciences here, regarding if you were born with a different mother, would you still be ‘you’ in the consciences sense, or would you still be experiencing life before birth.

But, as cool as that discussion sounds, I’m more interested in the tiny things that created the current moment in time.

Booking a doctor’s appointment, which so happens to be at the same time as a friend you haven’t seen in ages is another example of the tiniest changes can affect everything. Maybe it was a guy you were friends with, or maybe it was an ex you hated who you hoped you’d never see.

Who can say what tiny little effects have on your future? Who can say that any of what I just said is true? This world could be stuck in one linear line, with history and fate that was decided at the second of creation.

You can blame a lot on the butterfly effect. But, there were also times you have to be thankful for it.

‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’ is a common saying, that you could claim is related to the butterfly effect. You just so happened to make the decisions to go to that place, and it just so happened that you left your house at that time. Maybe something made you late for your plans, resulting in a better result.

Who can say?

Whatever the point of all this was is unknown, even to me. But I suppose the butterfly effect is all about doing whatever you want and living with the consequences of your actions through the natural flow of the universe. Maybe this post will end up leaking the nuke codes, or maybe this post will cause aliens to invade.

Life up to this point can be blamed on many things. The actions of others, the thoughts of those around you, or your own dreams. What you choose to do with the life you have now is up to you. Even the tiniest change can create an earthquake.

I’d say it’s ok to blame the present on the butterfly effect, but you’ve been given the power to control the butterfly effect for future generations, do with it what you will. But, as I said, Calculating and trying to control the future could be called insanity.

The mystery is what excites and worries some people.