![The butterfly effect: A small change, like a butterfly flapping its wings, can lead to massive, unpredictable outcomes, like a hurricane, due to complex systems. [Image: Grok (xAI)]](/images/Images/chaos-theory-grok600.jpg "The butterfly effect: A small change, like a butterfly flapping its wings, can lead to massive, unpredictable outcomes, like a hurricane, due to complex systems. [Image: Grok (xAI)]")
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Resistance to the new
Change meets resistance, and science is no exception (Kuhn, 1962). Scientists build conceptual frameworks—controlled environments to build on prior knowledge and minimize variables. In this environment, revolutionary ideas disrupt scientific order.
Early critics dismissed Lorenz’s butterfly effect as fanciful, clinging to deterministic certainty (Gleick, 1987). Chaos theory was a “butterfly in the box,” threatening established paradigms (Gleick, 1987, p. 20). Yet, its persistence reflects a truth: the universe, from swirling galaxies to shifting societies, defies tidy prediction (Strogatz, 2015). By embracing this complexity, we better navigate the echoes of change.