This effect shows that the result of the development of things is extremely sensitive to the initial conditions, and the smallest deviation of the initial conditions will cause great differences in the results. The "butterfly effect" is used in sociology to explain that a bad tiny mechanism, if not guided and adjusted in time, will bring great harm to society, which is nicknamed "tornado" or "storm"; A good tiny mechanism, as long as it is guided correctly, will have a sensational effect after a period of hard work, or be called "revolution".
Nonlinear, commonly known as "butterfly effect".
What is the butterfly effect? Let's start with the discovery of Lorenz, a meteorologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In order to forecast the weather, he solved 13 equations simulating the earth's atmosphere by computer. In order to examine the results more carefully, he took out an intermediate solution, improved the accuracy and sent it back. And when he came back to see it after drinking a cup of coffee, he was surprised: there was a small difference, but the result was a hundred thousand miles away! There was nothing wrong with the computer, so Lorenz decided that he had discovered a new phenomenon: "extreme instability to the initial value", that is, "chaos", also known as "butterfly effect". The flapping of Asian butterflies will make a tornado worse than a strong wind appear in America in a few months!
This discovery is so serious that scientists don't understand it, and several scientific magazines also refuse to publish his articles, thinking that it is "contrary to common sense": if similar initial values are substituted into certain equations, the results should be similar, so how can they be far away!
Linearity refers to the proportional and linear relationship between quantities, which represents regular and smooth motion in space and time; However, nonlinearity refers to the non-proportional and non-linear relationship, which represents irregular movement and mutation. For example: How many times is the visual acuity of two eyes more than that of one eye? It's easy to think of twice, but it's actually 6-10 times! This is nonlinearity:1+1is not equal to 2.
The generation of laser is nonlinear! When the applied voltage is small, the laser is like an ordinary electric lamp, and the light scatters in all directions; When the applied voltage reaches a certain value, a new phenomenon will suddenly appear: the excited atoms seem to hear the command of "aligning to the right" and emit monochromatic light with the same phase and direction, that is, laser.
The characteristic of nonlinearity is that it cuts across all professions and permeates all fields, which can almost be said as "everywhere."
For example, there is chaos in the motion of celestial bodies; The oscillation of electricity, light and sound waves will suddenly sink into chaos; The geomagnetic field changed direction 16 times in 4 million years, which is also due to chaos. Even human beings themselves are originally nonlinear: contrary to traditional thinking, the EEG and heartbeat of healthy people are not regular, but chaotic, and chaos is the expression of vitality. Chaotic systems respond to external stimuli faster than non-chaotic systems.
It can be seen that nonlinearity is around us and we can't hide it.
19791February, Lorenz pointed out in a speech at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington that a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil might cause a tornado in Texas, USA. His speech and conclusion left a deep impression on people. Since then, the so-called "butterfly effect" has spread like wildfire, and its reputation has spread far and wide.
The reason why the butterfly effect is fascinating, exciting and thought-provoking lies not only in its bold imagination and charming aesthetic color, but also in its profound scientific connotation and inherent philosophical charm.
Chaos theory holds that in a chaotic system, the very small changes of initial conditions will cause great differences in its future state after continuous amplification. We can use a folk song circulating in the west to illustrate this image. This ballad says:
Lost a nail and broke a shoe;
Broke a shoe and folded a war horse;
Fold a war horse and hurt a knight;
Wounded a knight and lost a battle;
Lost a battle and lost an empire.
Whether a nail on a horseshoe will be lost is a very small change in the initial conditions, but its "long-term" effect is the fundamental difference between the existence and death of an empire. This is the so-called "butterfly effect" in the military and political fields.
It's a little incredible, but it can really cause such bad consequences. A wise leader must guard against procrastination, but seemingly trivial things may cause disintegration within the collective. Isn't it too late to regret at that time?
A suspension bridge across a deep valley often starts with a small stone tied to a thin line.