THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
&
INDETERMINISM
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Your attention here is very much appreciated.
Also, this section will contain spoilers for Beta - Ena as events that have transpired there will be discussed. Should you wish to return to Beta - Ena first, you may do so at the bottom of the page
Example of Indeterminism
Why these theories?
The Butterfly Effect and Indeterminism are not usually paired together. If you’ve grasped both theories and think about it, the Butterfly Effect is rather Deterministic which subsequently seems like an odd pairing with its counterpart Indeterminism.
The first reason is because of the timeline’s narrative.
The Nail Clipper timeline was meant to be as wildly profound as it could be. The Butterfly Effect naturally fell into this, but more was needed to truly make this timeline as it was envisioned. Meteors, natural disasters, or virus outbreaks are Indeterministic events which take place in the timeline. The Butterfly Effect could only take this timeline so far before it started to lose its meaning, therefore Indeterminism was chosen as a secondary theory
Secondly, there was a higher chance of this event being the first one that most users would explore, given its placement on the timeline, and its bizarreness of even being included as a key event. The idea was then to create a strong impression, one that as mentioned prior, required 2 theories to pull off.
It is worth noting that all other alternate timelines feature only 1 theory each. Beta - Ena is, very much by design, the odd duck
What is The Butterfly Effect?
The most classic concept. What most people think of when they think about changes in time, and the first theory exemplified in this experience.
The Butterfly Effect is a concept from chaos theory spelling out how small changes or actions can have wildly different and unpredictable effect. Can’t talk about this theory without mentioning its name, which comes from the idea that the wind created from a butterfly can create a chain reaction that leads to a tornado somewhere else in the world.
While many examples in film or other media portray the Butterfly Effect as being a small change creating a huge effect, its actual depiction simply has to have the following:
A small action
A chain reaction of events
And finally an unpredictable and far-reaching consequence.
That being said, this specific timeline has an extreme conclusion. This was done to exemplify the concept as much as possible and is a sentiment shared across other timelines as well.
However, it’s also worth mentioning, that the Butterfly Effect is not the only reason for ALL the events in Beta - Ena. That, is where the second theory used comes in.
What is Indeterminism?
Indeterminism in essence is the belief that true randomness and chance encounters exist in the world. That action and choices made are not determined by events that come before it. It is mainly a philosophical concept that ties with the idea of Determinism which as the name suggests, is its opposite.
The concept of indeterminism also ties to freewill existing and unpredictability having an effect in cause and effect situations. Once again Beta - Ena shows an extreme view of this unpredictable and random nature in order to exemplify the concept, something that will be discussed more below.
In a deterministic world, when a die is rolled, assuming you knew the force necessary, the angle, the height and so on, you could say you know exactly what the outcome is going to be because you know what comes before it
However, in an indeterministic world, despite having the same knowledge, there would still be some uncertainty due to small chance encounters such as minor wind or improper table surfaces.
This is the main difference between the two and what makes Indeterminism fascinating. Randomness, unpredictability and even freeewill
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How Beta - Ena showcases both theories
The Butterfly Effect
This one is more obvious especially for people familiar with the concept already. The Nail Clippers failed patent caused the end of the world.
While not every event is caused by this, the end of the world spawns from the insignificance of the initial action. The outbreaks and meteors cannot be attributed to this as those fall under the other concept
Indeterminism
As mentioned, falling meteors and outbreaks are random events that are not determined by things that come before them.
The failure of the Nail Clippers could not have affected these events as they were random chance.
While other events could have attributes to Indeterminism too, these are the 2 main ones that were exaggerated for the sake of showcasing the theory
Conclusion
The Butterfly Effect is the concept of small actions causing a chain reaction and leading to an unpredictable outcome
Indeterminism posits that true randomness exists in the world and events yet to happen are not determined by those that precede it
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