Le battement d'ailes du papillon

I recalled while brushing my teeth just now the moment when I discovered the butterfly effect. It was a very romantic notion, the idea that the flapping of a butterfly's wings can cause a storm across the Atlantic. I was watching a movie, and the opening scene had a butterfly I think, and there I heard described the romantic idea that little things can have very big effects. In case you want to see the movie, the English title is Happenstance, starring Audrey Tautou.

I checked up on the butterfly effect for a fuller understanding of it, and I kind of gave up at that point. The real and deeper meaning of the butterfly effect has its roots in Chaos Theory, which I am proud to say that like 99% of the world, I am unable to fathom. Fine, I didn't try, but I was never under the impression that I was particularly gifted in certain aspects.

Let's go back to romantic version of the butterfly effect -- the idea that something very small and seemingly inconsequential has a profound effect on life. The idea that we are all linked, interconnected. That everything we do is of consequence, which by extrapolation means that we are all important players in determining the direction this world is taking. Take a deep breath and ponder on your importance. Now take a pin and deflate that bubble.

Reading further into that statement, I can also say that we are not important at all. Our absence will cause a reaction perhaps, and the world will go down another path. The point is, the world will change anyway and no one path is necessarily better than another. We don't know the unrealized path. It is not relevant. The world will go on.

Zidane's headbutt may have its origins in the Algerian war. The reason I am in my present location may have to do with a class I took years ago, or with a person I met years ago, or a more recent event. I don't know which was the butterfly's wings, and which was the contribution of the flapping of the hummingbird feeding one bright morning.

I'm not a person for what-if's. Not that I don't care about the butterfly effect, but beauty is not exactly always useful. I like beautiful things anyway.