The insignificant butterfly that caused a chaos
The butterfly effect is a phenomenon of absolute interest which relates to how the flap of a butterfly wings in Mexico can cause a hurricane in China. However, the phenomenon seems quite unlikely to occur outside the theoretical framework of mathematics. Regardless of the high improbability, the connection is real. If not for the flapping of the wings at the right space and time passage, the probability of occurrence is low.
“As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain, and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality”
-Albert Einstein-
The theoretical framework of the butterfly effect suggests how a tiny insignificant cause has the potential to generate big consequences. The theory itself is mostly about cause and effect. The butterfly effect is the representation of the chaos theory which was founded by meteorologist Edward Lorenz in 1972 who presented the idea through the famous talk “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?” at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
After its discovery, the concept viral throughout various fields like psychology, cinematography, physics etc. leading to various publications, movies and books.
The block chain technology is very much alike the butterfly effect. The block chain is an electronic shared ledger for recording. There is no third party controlling the ledger and therefore it is decentralized. It was founded by Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identity is yet to be known , in the year 2008 who released the idea to the world through the whitepaper ‘Bit coin: A peer to peer electronic cash system’. Figuratively, the block chain is the best thing to happen to the contemporary world.
In the current world, we face a lot of complex problems in relation to transactions. The possibility of human error or fraud increases with each participant having its own separate ledger, intermediaries increases transaction coasts and creates inefficiencies due to reliance for validation , involvement of collateral process results in frequent delays , is energy and time consuming and results in potential losses. All of these are issues the world has been suffering from for so long. However, the emergence of the block chain is a blessing.
The block chain makes it all better. In a more deepened perspective, the block chain is a decent example of the butterfly effect. A small, sudden, insignificant cause which is resulting in big consequences. The block chain has the potential capability to transform the entire industry. The block chain is among the three largest technologies which is driving 2018. It is stronger and well distributed.
Unlike the initial bitcoin beginning, the block chain now has broader value to itself with more functionality because of the integration with artificial intelligence (AI). The block chain is enhancing and expanding the micro finance, trading, corporate , technology, healthcare, music etc. industries.
The benefits of the block chain are critical to enterprises. It is distributed. It works as a system which holds records that is shared among participants of the business network, eliminating the need to reconcile disparate ledgers. It is permissioned. Each member of the network has access rights so that confidential information is shred on a need-to know basis. Finally, it is secure. Consensus is required from al network members and all validated transactions are permanently recorded. No one, not even a system administrator can delete.
Apart from it, the block chain is creating extraordinary opportunities for businesses to come together in new ways. It creates new values, optimizes ecosystems and reduces risks.
Like mentioned previously, the block chain can enable enterprises across many industries to free up capital flows, lower transaction costs, speed up processes and provide security and trust.
Block chains are of different types. Currently there are three types of block chain networks: Public block chain, private block chain and the consortium block chain. A public block chain has no absolute restrictions. It is public, accessible to anyone. A private block chain is one where individuals cannot access the block network unless permissioned. The consortium block chain uses a set of pre-selected nodes to operate the consensus process. Together, they form a widely accessible diverse range of advanced technical support to the world of need enabling us to revolutionize the various systems of the world. Especially the financial system. At the end, everything connects. Although it is difficult to see the extent to which the affects extends to just like how it is a bit hard to identify where the butterfly exists the block chain is a wonderful presentation of technology in an interesting form.
“A very small cause which escapes our notice determines a considerable effect that we cannot fail to see, and then we say the effect is due to chance. If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of that same universe at a succeeding moment. But even if it were the case that the natural laws had no longer any secret for us, we could still only know the initial situation *approximately*. If that enabled us to predict the succeeding situation with *the same approximation*, that is all we require, and we should say that the phenomenon had been predicted, that it is governed by laws. But it is not always so; it may happen that small differences in the initial conditions produce very great ones in the final phenomena. A small error in the former will produce an enormous error in the latter. Prediction becomes impossible, and we have the fortuitous phenomenon.”
Jules Henri Poincaré (1854–1912)
In parallel terms, an insignificant tiny creature such as a butterfly has the aptitude to imply a large impact on the planet’s functionality similar to how the block chain is affecting the industrial and technical functionality.
References
Explainer: what is chaos theory. Retrieved May 11 2018 from http://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-chaos-theory-10620
The butterfly effect and the chaos theory in stories. Retrieved May 11 2018 from https://sites.google.com/site/charlesjharwood/the-butterfly-effect-and-chaos-theory
Theodor ( January 5, 2013 ) The terrible turn of events- literature and the butterfly effect. Retrieved May 11 2018 from https://pavlopoulos.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/the-terrible-turn-of-events-literature-and-the-butterfly-effect/
The butterfly effect. Retrieved May 12 2018 from http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/ghys/articles/butterflyeffect.pdf
The butterfly effect: everything you need to know about this powerful mental model. Retrieved May 13 2018 from https://www.fs.blog/2017/08/the-butterfly-effect/
