The Butterfly Effect|蝴蝶效应

by Daniel Howard

Can a butterfly cause a hurricane? Chaos theory says it can.

　　The butterfly effect is the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world could cause a hurricane on the other side. _(1)_ As part of his research on complex weather patterns, he noticed that it was sometimes impossible to predict the weather. Lorenz turned to a field of mathematics called chaos theory for the answers, and he found that tiny events like the movement of a butterfly's wings could have huge consequences.

　　Chaos theory uses complicated mathematical equations to explain complex events in the real world. _(2)_ Advances in computers made it possible to do more complex mathematical calculations that the human brain was incapable of. _(3)_ A butterfly flapping its wings really could cause a hurricane.

　　Since it is so poetic, the butterfly effect caught the public's attention. It has become a popular idea in science fiction, especially where time travel is involved. _(4)_ It has been the subject of short stories, novels, and even a movie aptly named The Butterfly Effect. In any story making use of the butterfly effect, the message is that every action has a consequence. _(5)_ Either way, the butterfly effect makes people carefully consider their actions, large and small.

(A) The results were amazing because, by using math, scientists saw that even unrelated events could be related.

(B) The field of chaos theory goes back to the 1880s, but it wasn't until the 1960s that chaos theory was understood well enough to be useful.

(C) Sometimes that consequence is clear, and sometimes it can only be explained by something as complex as chaos theory.

(D) The term butterfly effect was coined by a mathematician and meteorologist Edward Lorenz.

(E) Born in 1917, Edward Lorenz was viewed as a pioneer of chaos theory.

(F) In some science fiction, a single tiny change in the past could completely change the course of history.

 

蝴蝶效应

蝴蝶可以引发飓风吗？根据混沌理论，答案是肯定的。

　　蝴蝶效应是一种蝴蝶在世界的某一边拍动翅膀，就可能导致世界的另外一边产生飓风的概念。蝴蝶效应这个名词是数学家兼气象学家爱德华․罗伦兹所创。如同他在复杂气候模式这方面的部份研究一样，他注意到有时候要预测天气是不可能的。于是罗伦兹转而透过一项称为混沌理论的数学领域来找答案，结果发现象是蝴蝶翅膀拍动这样微小的事情却可能会产生巨大的结果。

　　混沌理论利用复杂的数学方程式来解释现实世界中的复杂事件。混沌理论的领域可以追溯至 1880 年代，但混沌理论一直到 1960 年代才被充份理解而成为有用的理论。计算机的进步使我们能够进行更复杂的数学运算，而这是人类的大脑所不能胜任的。结果令人惊讶，因为藉由数学的运用，科学家们了解到即使是原本不相关的事件也可能会有所关联。蝴蝶翅膀的拍动真的有可能会引发飓风。

　　由于蝴蝶效应极富诗意，因此吸引了众人的目光。它已经变成科幻小说中相当受欢迎的概念，特别是涉及时空旅行的科幻小说。在某些科幻小说中，过去一个微小的变化可能会彻底改变历史。蝴蝶效应一直以来都是短篇故事和小说的主题，甚至有一部电影就巧妙地取名为《蝴蝶效应》。在任何利用蝴蝶效应的故事中，所要传达的讯息就是每项行为都会有其结果。有时候结果是很明确的，而有时候只能透过像混沌理论一样复杂的事情来解释。无论是哪一种情形，蝴蝶效应会让人们谨慎思考自己大大小小的行为。

 

答案： 1. D 2. B 3. A 4. F 5. C