MATHS I: CHAOS THEORY – THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

How many choices do you make every day, class?

Have you heard of the butterfly effect? The theory is that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the earth can cause a great tornado across the globe a few weeks later. It’s the idea that even a small change can effect the outcome in a big way. And the theory holds up. Lorenz, who coined the name of the effect, used it to study weather, but it transcends boundaries.

The world was a very different place back in 1955, but a butterfly named Rosa Parks flapped her wings and the world changed. A tornado of hope and freedom was to follow but not until years later. Racism, although alive and kicking today as shown by Wolfgang, is minute compared to how it was in 1955. And the reason for that is that she remained in a seat on a bus.

Imagine that for a second. Sitting on a bus changed millions of black lives all over the world.

Many people interpret the theory as a constantly forking path. As soon as one decision is made, you’re at another junction, and another, and another. Life is a series of junctions such as this, and your decisions take you down a unique path. You can change your path. As long as you can see the bigger picture you can always change the path. The possibilities are endless and ever-changing.

When I was younger I was handed a 500 piece puzzle for Christmas one year. I can’t remember what was on the puzzle but I remember the frustration. All of these pieces. All of these possibilities, and all of them were closed to me. There was only one solution, and when I finally reached the end of the puzzle a few weeks later I was completely and utterly underwhelmed.

That’s the problem with a Jigsaw.

It’s an illusion of choice.

Unlike the constant forks of the butterfly effect leading to new outcomes, the constant forks of a Jigsaw all lead to one thing, no matter which way you turn the pieces.

In many ways, life is one big game, and the way you play it matters. The Revolution play it with an open mind and an open heart. We see the changes that need making because we never lose sight of the bigger picture. Our goals change because the world changes with us. We can see when a path is not the right one and we can alter it.

But Jigsaw? He plays the game with a closed mind. He has such tunnel vision that the pieces of his insane puzzle don’t matter to him, all that is important is the final outcome. He sees that completed jigsaw puzzle in his minds eye, and all those who stand in the way of that completion are worthless to him. He cannot change the way he thinks, and he will never change the world.

This week The Revolution will take a piece of his puzzle and destroy it. And what then? Nobody has any use for an incomplete Jigsaw.