how does a squashed butterfly change the course of history

by Aliyah Kassulke 3 min read

What is the butterfly effect in history?

The Butterfly Effect is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can cause devastating consequences in another part. Abraham Lincoln dreams of his death – 1865 How buying a sandwich lead to WW1 – 1914 A rejected letter caused the Vietnam War One man’s kindness caused the Holocaust

How do butterflies and moths change shape?

The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. Insects have two common types of metamorphosis.

What happens when a Japanese girl squishes a butterfly?

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.

What do we know about the origin of butterflies?

Our understanding of butterfly origins is based on the study of living Lepidopteran species. We can often learn about evolution from the fossil record, but there are relatively few butterfly fossils.

What is the Butterfly Effect in history?

The butterfly effect is a part of chaos theory. It essentially means that small changes can lead to very large differences later on.

How does the butterfly effect affect us?

The two pertinent things that the butterfly effect teaches us is that small things matter, and we are all connected to a bigger system. Our action now, today, would have been the result of a previous action and this could in turn, lead to a future action. With one small gesture, you can change somebody's life.

What is the theory of the butterfly effect?

In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.

How does the butterfly defy evolution?

1:438:03Butterflies - Defying the Theory of Evolution - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe chrysalis. And the beautiful butterfly butterflies lay their eggs on suitable plants that theMoreThe chrysalis. And the beautiful butterfly butterflies lay their eggs on suitable plants that the little caterpillars when they come out will be able to eat the leaves.

What is The Butterfly Effect in sociology?

Butterfly effect (also called sensitivity to initial conditions): The idea that even the slightest change in the starting point can lead to greatly different results or outcomes. Attractor: Equilibrium within the system. It represents a state to which a system finally settles.

What would happen if butterflies went extinct?

Pollinating Plants Without these wonderful insects, many plant species would then be unable to reproduce and their populations would dramatically decrease without the butterfly's presence. We would see this effect in a number of plant species including wildflowers we have grown to love.

How real is The Butterfly Effect?

0:526:29Is the Butterfly Effect Real? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIf you don't know what that is it's a rotating and shifting platform with shell like cars eachMoreIf you don't know what that is it's a rotating and shifting platform with shell like cars each rotating on a smaller circle with people in them it has rules. And it follows those rules rigidly. The

Why is The Butterfly Effect called The Butterfly Effect?

The term "butterfly effect" was coined by meteorologist Edward Lorenz, who discovered in the 1960's that tiny, butterfly—scale changes to the starting point of his computer weather models resulted in anything from sunny skies to violent storms—with no way to predict in advance what the outcome might be.

Why The Butterfly Effect is wrong?

Scientists have disproved the “butterfly effect” at the quantum level, refuting the idea that changes made in the past would have grave ramifications upon returning to the present. In the simulation, a piece of information is simulated to be sent backwards in time. That information is then damaged.

How did butterflies evolve metamorphosis?

Some scientists have proposed outlandish origin tales, such as Donald Williamson's idea that butterfly metamorphosis resulted from an ancient and accidental mating between two different species—one that wriggled along ground and one that flitted through the air.

How did the butterfly evolve?

Bees evolved some 125 million years ago, and the plants produced nectar to secure them as pollinators. Because moths had already developed strawlike mouthparts, one group was able to exploit the novel food source, and evolved into butterflies.

What is butterfly metamorphosis?

Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

What is the butterfly effect?

The Butterfly Effect is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can cause devastating consequences in another part. Previously, the term was weather-related, but nowadays it is a metaphor for how a small and insignificant event can cause a major change in circumstances. It is virtually impossible to corroborate this ...

Why did Henry Tandey fight for the British?

This decision was to cost the world in ways no one could have ever imagined. Tandey was fighting to gain control of Marcoing, and saw one injured German soldier trying to flee.

10 Small Changes You Can Make to Protect the Environment

I can’t quite give up on this home planet of ours. Yes, it is beleaguered and trashed and attacked on every level. That, we know beyond doubt. But it is also full of enduring wonder, beauty, and mystery — a place that nourishes us physically and spiritually, every single day.

Create less waste

Our landfills are overflowing with single-use plastics and other non-biodegradable materials that end up in our oceans, threatening the beautiful and mysterious creatures that dwell there. Taking small steps toward a zero-waste lifestyle goes a long way toward helping the environment. Try some of these tips:

Reuse greywater

Greywater is the water leftover from a bath, laundry, washing dishes, brushing your teeth, or even cooking. Shreya Ramachandran, a 2018 Barron Prize Winner, founded The Grey Water Project to help educate and inspire people to reuse water and lessen the effects of drought.

Encourage bees

Bees are among the best pollinators with the most important jobs — helping plant life to thrive. Without bees, there would be limited flowers and even fewer fruits and vegetables. A few ways to help the bees include:

Plant a tree

Trees contribute to the environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. Not to mention, they are magical, majestic beings with histories and stories that we could only imagine. We should all be planting trees!

Grow your own food

Produce has to travel long distances before it ends up on your grocery store shelves, relying heavily on fossil fuels. By growing your own fruits and vegetables, you can help reduce these practices that are harming the environment.

Unplug

Appliances, chargers, lights… if you’re not actively using them, unplug them! This will not only help you save on your electricity bill but will also help reduce your carbon footprint. If possible, switch to renewable energy sources like solar energy.

Why don't butterflies evolve?

This is supposedly because the variation we see in nature—the many different physical features and forms of behaviour that lifeforms can have – is caused by random ...

What is the name of the bird that evolved from a group of dinosaurs?

His answer was that "the experiment has been done and we call them crows", referring to the fact that birds, including the very intelligent crow species, evolved from a group of dinosaurs. Gold stick spider. Credit: George Roderick.

What is convergent evolution?

Some scientists defend the idea of " convergent evolution ". This is when organisms that aren't related to each other independently evolve similar features in response to their environment.

Why are stick spiders white?

Most of the stick spiders on the Hawaiian Islands have gold, dark or white body colouring as camouflage to hide from predators, such as birds.

What was the book Wonderful Life named after?

In 1989 (the year of Back To The Future Part II), the American palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould published his timeless book Wonderful Life, named after the classic movie that also involves time travel of sorts. In it, he proposed a thought experiment: what would happen if you could replay life's tape, rewinding the history ...

Why are Hawaiian islands called natural laboratories?

Islands are often referred to as natural laboratories because they are effectively closed environments.

Is convergent evolution random?

But the evidence for convergent evolution doesn't rule out the role of chance. There is no doubt that mutations and the biological variations they create are random. Organisms are a mosaic of multiple traits, each with different evolutionary histories. And that means whatever evolved in the butterfly's place might well not look exactly the same.

Who created the butterfly metaphor?

The butterfly metaphor was created by Ray Bradbury in the 1952 short story A Sound of Thunder. 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. The concept has been taken up by popular culture, ...

What is the butterfly effect?

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. The scientific concept is attributed to Edward Lorenz, ...

What episode of Ugly Betty is the butterfly effect?

Two episodes of Ugly Betty are named " The Butterfly Effect Part 1 " and " The Butterfly Effect Part 2 ". 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.

What movie did the butterfly flutter over a flower?

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.". According to Peter Dizikes, the films Havana and The Butterfly Effect mischaracterize the butterfly effect by asserting ...

What is the sound of thunder?

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. The story has since been made ...

What episode does Martha step on the butterfly?

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.

Can butterflies flap their wings?

A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine.". Other examples include Terry Pratchett 's novel Interesting Times, which tells of the magical "Quantum Weather Butterfly" with the ability to manipulate weather patterns.

When did butterflies start flowering?

Many scientists think that the specialized association between today's butterflies and flowering plants suggests that butterflies developed during the Cretaceous Period, often called the "Age of Flowering Plants," 65 million to 135 million years ago —a time when dinosaurs also roamed the earth.

How old are butterfly fossils?

We can often learn about evolution from the fossil record, but there are relatively few butterfly fossils. Those that do exist, like the 40-million-year-old Prodryas persophone, are remarkably similar to modern-day forms—so the fossil record sheds little light on the origin of today's butterflies.

Is a butterfly a Lepidoptera?

What we do know is that, despite the attention they receive from scientists and the public alike, butterflies are not the pinnacle of Lepidoptera evolution. One recent theory is that an obscure moth family, the Hedylidae, represents the closest living relatives of the butterflies.

What is the next stage of a butterfly?

The next stage is the larva. This is also called a caterpillar if the insect is a butterfly or a moth. The job of the caterpillar is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times. Food eaten at this time is stored and used later as an adult.

What is the process of a butterfly and moth?

The butterfly and moth develop through a process called metamorphosis. This is a Greek word that means transformation or change in shape. Insects have two common types of metamorphosis. Grasshoppers, crickets, dragonflies, and cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis. The young (called a nymph) usually look like small adults but without the wings.

How long does a moth pupa last?

The pupa of many moths is protected inside a coccoon of silk. This stage can last from a few weeks, a month or even longer. Some species have a pupal stage that lasts for two years. It may look like nothing is going on but big changes are happening inside.

What is a butterfly's pupa?

When the caterpillar is full grown and stops eating, it becomes a pupa. The pupa of butterflies is also called a chrysalis. Depending on the species, the pupa may suspended under a branch, hidden in leaves or buried underground. The pupa of many moths is protected inside a coccoon of silk.

How do butterflies get energy?

Some species of adult butterflies get energy by feeding on nectar from flowers but many species don't feed at all. Flying comes in handy. The adult female can easily fly from place to place to find the right plant for its eggs. This is important because caterpillars can't travel far.

When do butterflies lay their eggs?

Eggs can be laid from spring, summer or fall. This depends on the species of butterfly. Females lay a lot of eggs at once so that at least some of them survive. Butterfly eggs can be very small.

What is a nymph called?

The young (called a nymph) usually look like small adults but without the wings. Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food.

Convergent Evolution

But not everyone agrees with this picture. Some scientists defend the idea of “convergent evolution.” This is when organisms that aren’t related to each other independently evolve similar features in response to their environment.

Chance or Necessity?

This study is a remarkable example of convergent evolution taking place in the same geographical area. It’s reminiscent of the classic studies on Anolis lizards by evolutionary ecologist Jonathan Losos, who noticed lizards on different Caribbean islands had independently evolved the same adaptations multiple times.

What butterfly is a checkerspot?

The Quino checkerspot is a subspecies of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly ( Euphydryas editha ), which is now considered to be an early warning indicator of climate change in North America, because of its exceptionally high sensitivity to warming temperatures. In tracking the movements and population declines or expansions experienced by indicator species such as Edith’s checkerspot, scientists are able to assess the condition of the insect’s environment and surrounding areas.

Do butterflies respond to temperature?

Many butterflies possess an unusually heightened sensitivity to overly warm environs. Minute increases in temperature, imperceptible to humans, are of such significance to butterflies that they have triggered new patterns in the ancient process of metamorphosis and have even driven the creatures out of their native habitats. Each species of butterfly and moth (known collectively as lepidopterans) responds differently to warming trends. For one species in particular, the European grapevine moth ( Lobesia botrana ), a slight rise in temperature can tempt pupae out of their shells much earlier in the spring than is usual for the species.

"A Sound of Thunder"

  • 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, and has been used as an example of "the butterfly effect" and how to consider chaos theory and the physics of time travel. The story has since been made into a film of the same name and...
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Films

  • The influence of the concept can be seen in the films The Terminator, Back to the Future, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Cloud Atlas. 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." According to science journalist Peter Di…
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Television

  • The concept is referenced in a Treehouse of Horror episode of the television series The Simpsons. "My Butterfly", an episode from the TV show Scrubs, features two separate timelines, each influenced by the butterfly effect. The season four premiere episodes of Ugly Betty are named "The Butterfly Effect Part 1" and "The Butterfly Effect Part 2", and a review of the episode…
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Video Games

  • The concept is also incorporated into video games, including Eve Online. 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. The video game series Life Is Strange, first released in 2015, makes multiple references to the butterfly effect and uses it to de…
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Books

  • 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, including what happened after the release of To Pimp a Butterfly. The 2020 book The Butterfly Effect: Insects and the making of the modern worldby Edward Melillo incorpo…
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Other Popular Culture

  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, "the butterfly effect" was also used to describe the impact of increased waiting times within the health care system in the UK, i.e. "The knock-on effect this would have on my day – the beating of a butterfly's wings in the morning causing tornadoes by the afternoon", and as a justification for the suppression of news in China about the death of Li Wenl…
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