the wonders of the triple W.: my search for the buterfly effect.

note: it is easy to read for all those who are not interested in the physically draining task of understanding the complex and profound language chosen by the authors of other reads. click here for the full read.

and here's the gist of the read if you're too bummed out.

chaos theory states that there is a lack of order in a system; there improbability and the unpredictability in everything. the chaos theory is synonmous (read: similar) to a condition, dynamic instability, discovered by Henri Poincare in the early 20th century. the condition is the inherent lack of predictability in some physical system. the butterfly effect is a physical example of the chaos theory.

the two main components of the chaos theory is the idea that systems - no matter how complex they may be - rely on an underlying order and that the very simple or small system and event can cause very complex behaviours or events.

the chaos theory questions physicians' belief in the laws of newton, which are completely based on "determineds": assuming - theoretically, that precise measures about the behaviour of any physical system are possible, resulting in the precise predictions could be made of the past and/or future.

the question of whether the butterfly flapping its wings in brazil could lead to a tornado in texas was brought up by Lorenz (dec, 1972) after quoting an unnamed meteorologist who said that "if the chaos theory were true, then a single flap of a single seagull's wings would enough to change the course of all future weather systems on earth."

the example of such a small system, a butterfly, being responsible for creating such a large and distant system, a tornado in Texas, illustrates the impossibility of making predictions for complex systems. despite the fact that these are determined by underlying conditions, precisely what those conditions are can never be sufficiently articulated to allow long-range predictions.

Lorenz, a meteorologist, was running computerized equations to theoretically model and predict weather conditions. Having run a particular sequence, he decided to replicate it. Lorenz reentered the number from his printout, taken half-way through the sequence, and left it to run. What he found upon his return was, contrary to his expectations, these results were radically different from his first outcomes. Lorenz had, in fact, entered not precisely the same number, .506127, but the rounded figure of .506. According to all scientific expectations at that time, the resulting sequence should have differed only very slightly from the original trial, because measurement to three decimal places was considered to be fairly precise. Because the two figures were considered to be almost the same, the results should have likewise been similar. Since repeated experimentation proved otherwise, Lorenz concluded that the slightest difference in initial conditions - beyond human ability to measure - made prediction of past or future outcomes impossible, an idea that violated the basic conventions of physics.

Poincare proved mathematically that even if the initial measurements could be made a million times more precise, the uncertainty of prediction for outcomes did not shrink along with the inaccuracy of measurement, but remained huge. Unless initial measurements could be absolutely defined - an impossibility - predictability for complex - chaotic - systems performed scarcely better than if the predictions had been randomly selected from possible outcomes.

this blog was relevant to a ms. valerie anne from when she was studying mass communications in a singapore polytechnic.

she was aged 16 on her first post, and 18 on her last.

she is currently a freelance emcee-er/hostess.
contact her at
valerieanne @ cheerful.com

some might call me the ultimate sagittarian; free-spirited and whatnot, but i don't believe in horoscopes.

"everything gets complicated when you think. i don't discourage thinking, it's over thinking that i'm worried about." - val


none existent.


i've moved on.

shop alot?


. make Valerie Anne are big name
. publish a book entitled "you better quote val, or else" - recommended by derek goh
. open a clip-on earrings shop
. open a cafe
. learn/speak spanish
. skydive over mauritius waters
. bungee jump from a suspension bridge
. get back into my dancing shoes
. set a world record for the longest time on a roller coaster ride
. save an endangered species
. AND prove to my mum that i'll be married before 35. HAHA.


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