The butterfly effect is a way to describe how small events
can have far-reaching and unexpected consequences. It was made popular by
Edward Norton Lorenz, a meteorologist who discovered rounding a single variable
in a weather simulation (like from 0.506127 to 0.506) produces a completely
different forecast. In 1990, the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed because one NASA
team used imperial calculations while another team used metric. Why is the US not
on board with the metric system? Blame it on pirates. In 1779, the newly United
States used different weights and measures, complicating interstate trade. Thomas
Jefferson arranged for scientist Joseph Dombrey to bring examples of the new
metric system from France. A storm blew Dombrey’s ship off course and into the
hands of privateers in the Caribbean, where he died. Without this precious
cargo, Congress refused to adopt the new system. Was the storm that doomed
Dombrey caused by a butterfly’s flapping wings? I guess we’ll never know.
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