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(JD) · Nov 19, 2010, 05:35 PM

There's something called the "butterfly effect." It's a theory that a man devised and even took to the "experts" who laughed heartedly at him. Later, they not only acknowledged his research, but accepted the work into the quantum physics realm.

The butterfly effect is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory; namely that small differences in the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system.

If that's a bit much of a definition, it basically means that a group of butterflies in one part of the world can actually affect a hurricane on the other side of the world. Well, I think it's actually smaller than that...ONE butterfly can help determine if there will be a tornado in another part of the world!

You know the adage, "No man is an island"? That's what this means. Each person in the world has worth. No one just lives out his or her life and not affect not only those around him--or her, but the rippling out from that life has great effects upon the world.

Do you recall the 6 degrees of connectedness? That was at heightened interest some years back. It's where no one is any more than 6 steps--or people--from who or what you need. This six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from any other person on earth.

So many people are despondent because they feel their life doesn't matter. Some may feel that they've already had all the influence their life can give, and they give up. But each life does matter. YOU matter. And the life of your future will continue to affect others, often without you knowing it.

The Butterfly effect proves that you are valued in the world, whether you can sense it or not.

Don't give up.

There are many great stories about how just one person affected just one other person, and the world was changed. Maybe you know of one. Maybe you are one. Maybe you will be one.

(JD)

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, already described in the literature in a particular case of the three-body problem by Henri Poincaré in 1890