The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly’s wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that may ultimately alter the path of a tornado or delay, accelerate or even prevent the occurrence of a tornado in a certain location. The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations of events. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different. Of course the butterfly cannot literally cause a tornado…. The kinetic energy of a tornado is ultimately provided by the sun and the butterfly can only influence certain details of weather events in a chaotic manner.   

                                                                                  - Wikipedia 

Being my usual self, I could not help thinking about this little outcome of studies related to Chaos theory. Can we actually affect things around us so much?

Did the guy, whom I heard had cheated at the college exams, actually alter the course of history by depriving another Emil Adolf von Behring-to-be of the class rank he wanted to apply for that research position? Did that just, by happenstance, let the discovery of an AIDS vaccine get delayed by another decade? Did that let happen the deaths of AIDS infected people all over the world, who would otherwise had a cure? I will never know for sure.

I do, however, see people trying to affect their own lives and of those in their vicinity in some way. I see an amputee vying for the Beijing Olympics. I see  my friends stay awake that extra hour to make time for their families in the face of piling work. I see two girls sitting together on the park bench, one trying to console another because her long-time boyfriend had broken up with her!

I do not see people resigned to fate. I do not see many “Waiting for the world to change” (John Mayer).

May be, all of these small actions can cause a huge change in the unforeseeable future. I will keep flapping!