Flutterby Effect (Butterfly Effect in Negative)

Dilbert had very correct views on management. It’s bullshit. A lot of common sense, packaged and branded into a bunch of theories and hypotheses and abbreviations. MBWA. Management by walking around. Are you saying managers were so dumb as to not realize that the most effective way to influence people is to be with them and make yourself available? What’s the use of Theory X and Theory Y? Type A or Type B? Country club management or Impoverished management! Excuse me while I die snickering.

I have similar views on chaos theory. The very name is an oxymoron. A theory for chaos? Are you kidding me? This is actually all stemming from a largely crappy movie that I watched last night…Butterfly Effect. The theory basically propounds that the flutter of the wings of a tiny butterfly can cause a tornado across the world. Basically saying that the initial action, a tiny flutter, could cause a chain of reactions to begin, which ultimately leads to a tornado somewhere in the world. Ok, I am saying ‘basically’ a lot. I will stop.

So, to put it in normal human terms, a little action of yours could set into motion a series of reactions that could lead to something really tremendous. Which is what the movie was all about. It was this jumbled melee of scenes, trying very hard to tell a story. But it did get me thinking. About how utterly dumb it is to theorize v. v. common sense. It’s like theorizing how my writing this post, will lead to something huge happening. Biggie. I know actions may have varied outcomes. Everyone knows! Control is redundant. I could write this post, and some scientist could kill himself by reading it, or kill me, because his life’s work involved chaos theory. Or, I write this post, and lots more, and with all the practice become a published writer (Yes it is a cherished dream). Or, I write it but I forget to post, so it just stays put. Or I write, I post, and then…well buddy, who the hell knows? And this, devotees, is the whole point. In my world, you can’t theorize chaos. Or common sense. Or life. The butterfly wings fluttering is supposed to have caused the tornado. Does that also mean that if the butterfly didn’t flutter its wings, the tornado wouldn’t happen?