MMR: The Butterfly Effect

I wanna talk today about randomness, and how tiny, innocuous actions can lead to great changes in the future. This, more or less, will play off the butterfly effect, and I'm going to try an apply it to real life (as opposed to the weather, where this theory first got started). First off, I should probably define what the butterfly affect is. As defined in the wikipedia entry, which seems to be a good wording of what I understand the butterfly effect to be already, the butterfly effect is defined as such:

The term "butterfly effect" itself is related to the work of Edward Lorenz, and is based in chaos theory and sensitive dependence on initial conditions, first described in the literature by Jacques Hadamard in 1890 and popularized by Pierre Duheim's 1906 book. The idea that one butterfly could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent historic events seems first to have appeared in a 1952 short story by Ray Bradbury about time travel although Lorenz made the term popular. In 1961, Lorenz was using a numerical computer model to rerun a weather prediction, when, as a shortcut on a number in the sequence, he entered the decimal .506 instead of entering the full .506127 the computer would hold. The result was a completely different weather scenario. Lorenz published his findings in a 1963 paper for the New York Academy of Sciences noting that "One meteorologist remarked that if the theory were correct, one flap of a seagull's wings could change the course of weather forever." Later speeches and papers by Lorenz used the more poetic butterfly.

Basically, the butterfly effect refers to the concept that the flap of a butterfly's wings somewhere in the world can change atmospheric conditions enough to have a drastic effect on weather somewhere else down the line. What is happening is the initial conditions are changing. The flap of the butterfly's wings, on their own, aren't enough to, say, start a tornado in Texas. But, the flap of the wings could send a ripple of air through the atmosphere, and some of those air molecules could collide with others, and send certain atmospheric molecules in different directions, which could lead to the formation of a cloud, which could lead to a tornado...when all other factors are taken into account.

Kinda complicated, I know. So, let me break it down into what I want to use the butterfly effect to talk about today. Today I want to look at how the tiny decisions we make, or don't make, every day...how the tiny, innocuous events that happen to us or around us...affect what happens to us down the road. And how many of these events are random, things that are out of our control. Thus, making tons of plans for your future life is probably a most futile effort. You never know where you are going to end up!

Life is funny sometimes. You know why I chose to go to UC Davis? Neither do I. I just had to make a choice, so I did. I could have gone to U of Hawaii, Cal Poly, New Mexico Tech, U of Miami...but I chose UC Davis. Another of my good friends chose to go to UC Davis too...but we decided not to room together, you know, to meet new people. Someone else made the decision to put me in the Tercero C building, and to room me with two hermits. This led to me branching out in my building to make new friends, and this is how I ended up meeting Kent, one of my best friends. Kent ended up living in a different appartment from me Sophomore year, where he met Jimmy B, who was placed with them because he didn't have a roommate. Through Jimmy B we met Tom Gerhart, and we all became friends. We all moved into 2802, but needed a new roommate, so Kent invited a seemingly nice coworker to live with us. She ended up stealing our friend Tom away from us, but in the process we met Bubba, who is now also one of my best friends. Little things that, on their own, do not seem to amount to much, but really did end up shaping not only my college experience, but who I am today, and the kinds of things I've been doing lately for fun.

The butterfly effect is fun. But you can only see it's effects in hindsight! Hindsight is 20-20, they say. Looking back, of course I became friends with Kent and then Bubs. I was in Kent's dorm, Kent led me to Tom, who led me to Bubba...it all makes sense. But what if I had decided to make friends at my end of the hall instead of the other end of the hall. Or maybe Matt and I lived together and we didn't need to make other good friends in our living areas. There are so many random possibilities of what could have happened when looking back that is crazy to think about how I got to where I am right now.

Looking to the future, every decision I make or don't make all of a sudden has this huge significance attached to it! I'm going to lunch today, I did not bring one in with me. This was a decision that could lead to plenty of things...maybe I run into an old friend and we get to catch up...maybe I decide to skip out on the diet because food is too good...maybe I meet someone new who brings an added spark or some new experiences to my life...or a million other possible scenarios I can't even fathom. And now I have to pick where I'm going to lunch! Do I get a burrito, or a sandwich, or some indian food...and each of these decisions opens up tons more possibilities. Many times these decisions don't have an immediate effect. But lots of times a decision, compliled with a few others you make, can have a pretty significant impact on your life.

So, looking ahead, it would be really silly of me to try and plan out my life. Saying "I want to get married in 5 years, start having kids in 7 years, buy a house in 3 years, be working for this salary by the time I'm 30..." really is a pointless endeavor. I might meet someone today that just turns my world upsidedown, and I'll get married within a year or two. I might get passed over three of four times for a promotion due to no fault of my own, and not get the raises to get me to the salaries I hoped and planned to be at. Obviously, some planning is ok. Like, oh, I'm planning on going to Oregon in July. Or, oh, I'm going to save money because I plan to buy a house someday. But life is so random, you really never know what's going to come next. Everyday is a new, delightful (or not so delightful for some...like my friend who fell off a mountain on Saturday) adventure. Don't waste time trying to plan out every detail of your life to be lived. Just jump aboard life's rollar coaster and enjoy the ride!


Q's Challenge: Week 13:

I'll keep it short and sweet this week, as last week was rather uneventful from a new things standpoint. For the most part it was an "ear"itating week (god, I'm just a riot!)...but it was not without its more interesting parts, or some enjoyable conversations and such. Let's begin!

1. Visited a New Doctor: I went to the Pacific Beach Urgent Care center on Monday with swimmer's ear. My doctor's name was Patricia Quinn (man, the stories just write themselves sometimes!). They were surprisingly quick! Go them!
Grade: Decent. As far as doctor's visits go, this one was mostly painless.

2. Took a 3 hour nap on a wednesday: My long naps are usually saved for lazy weekends. But in this case, I hadn't been sleeping all week because of my ear, I felt like shit, and I just wanted the day to go by faster...so I got home from work and slept for 3 hours. It was divine.
Grade: Glorious. Sleeping is a good cure for bordom.

3. Visited a new hospital: San Jose Regional Medical Center, to be exact. That's where my friend Sean was taken when he decided to tumble head over heals down a 150 foot mountainside embankment. Smart guy! Luckily he escaped with nothing worse than cuts and bruises...and being ridiculously sore. Dude scared the shit outta me, though. 150 ft. is a dangerous height to be falling from. I'm not ready to bury another friend...
Grade: FAIL! No more hospitals, please! Thanks...