# butterfly effect (amplification)

*Ordinarily means:* A small action can lead to big consequences.

A cause that is small in scale crosses a wall because the model did not include how parameters couple over distance, and so a drift that was negligible at its source becomes large at a far point.

- Computed level: L14 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: complex systems

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [cause](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cause.reason), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [wall](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-wall.range-end), [model](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-model.representation), [far](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-far.distance), [coupling](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-coupling.connection)

**Through:** A small cause has a large effect.

**Novel properties:**
- sensitive dependence on initial conditions

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-butterfly-effect.amplification*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-butterfly-effect.amplification.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*