The Butterfly Effect was a 2004 movie starring Ashton Kutcher. If you’ve watched the movie, you get the premise, if not it’s basically about Kutcher’s protagonist, Evan Treborn. He suffers from blackouts and can alter his past by reading his journal. Needless to say it goes wrong. But that’s not what this article is about.
When I get introduced to a theory, I become obsessed with it. Some examples would be Black Holes, time travel, space. I research it day and night till I have all the information I can possibly handle, and then I feel satisfied. This was no different, and believe me when I tell you, after reading this article, you WILL start thinking differently about life. A bold statement I know, but I will never steer you wrong. Take the time and please, pay attention. LET’S DO THIS!
First let’s get into the concept creation, it was thought of by meteorologist Edward N. Lorenz. On December 29, 1972 Lorenz presented a speech in the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science held in Washington, D.C. entitled, Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set a Tornado in Texas? Lorenz knew this would cause mass confusion because everyone would take the title literal. There’s ton of intricacies on his theory, I’m gonna save you from them. What it means is, if a butterfly flapped it’s wings in one part of the world, will it create a bigger reaction on another part of the world? Are you still with me? Good, because this is where it gets real interesting.
Here’s some examples of the concept in practice throughout history.
Abraham Lincoln: Ten days before he was assassinated, he had a dream that he attended his own funeral at the White House. He was deeply disturbed by this dream, yet still attended the play at Ford’s Theater. Mind you, he also refused full security. Well, we know the outcome of what happened, but think of the Butterfly Effect concept in this situation. We know that the Gettysburg address is still regarded as the one of the greatest speeches given by a president, but his demise cut short what could’ve been a history of great many things. If he didn’t go to the theater that night, what impact would that have on history?
World War 1: Archduke Franz Ferdinand has been the target of the terrorist group The Black Hand for awhile. They had an opportune moment when one of the terrorists threw a grenade at the Archduke’s motorcade while on a visit. The grenade missed, it hit another car and the Archduke was uninjured. The other car wasn’t so lucky, the Archduke was determined to visit the injured so he traveled to the hospital but during the journey, he noticed that the driver was not going down the altered route that had been previously decided. As the driver tried to correct his course, another member of the Black Hand was on the corner of the street buying a sandwich, recognizing the Archduke, he pulled out a pistol and shot the Archduke and his wife. The death of the Archduke set in motion the political unrest which started the 4-year war which cost millions of lives. A SANDWICH!!! Hungry terrorist leads to the first world war. Isn’t that crazy??!!
Adolf Hitler: Hitler actually has two examples of the Butterfly Effect. No introduction needed, Hitler was responsible for one of the biggest mass genocides in history. This is going to blow your mind.
Henry Tandey was in France in 1918, fighting for the British Army. He was located at a bunker on a mounted machine gun firing into the advancing German soldiers. After the carnage that ensued, he stopped firing because all that was left was an injured German soldier. Tandey had a heart and let the man escape. That man, was Adolf Hitler.
In 1905, a young student applied to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, twice. He got rejected both times. After that, the man had to live in the slums of the city and his anti-Semitism grew due to his struggles. He joined the German Army and well, the rest is history, that man was Adolf Hitler.
These are just a few examples of the concept behind the Butterfly Effect. Sure, you can say it’s all coincidence but that’s the point, if certain situations did or didn’t take place would things be different?
In pop culture movies we see this play-out a few times. Most notably, Back to the Future, we see several situations where Marty McFly and Doc Brown go back and try to change or fix things. Can we for sure say that if we go back and change certain things that the future would change? That’s where the intrigue comes in. I’m sure, just like me, many of us have looked back in our lives and wanted to change some things, but think about this, if you believe in destiny and fate, would it really change anything? For example, you’re reading this article now, did reading it change something that happens in the future? Did the examples in this article trigger thoughts in your mind that made you think about your daily routine? Questions of the ages my friends. I appreciate you taking this journey with me, I will be writing future articles like this often, check back soon!!! I hope you enjoyed it!!
Do you want to change the past? If you had the power, would you use it? Let’s discuss!!! SOUND OFF IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!!!
In high school debate we decided to argue The Butterfly Effect. I was part of the debate team that argued against the Butterfly Effect because if you watched the movie “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” they obviously removed people from their timeline with no ill effects. It was a fun silly debate, but definitely a poser- one of those questions that will constantly keep you up at night 🙂
I wouldn’t change a thing. From everything I’ve seen in movies and TV it’s too risky. Remember that episode of the Simpsons where it rained doughnuts? or they all had lizard tongues? But no really I would be afraid to change things because I like my life right now. This was an excellent article.