We all know the analogy of ripples in a pond, radiating outwards from the entry point of a stone throw, and the ‘chaos theory’ that when a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon, it can change the weather half a world away (there are lots of versions of this one, take your pick). We understand the concept and may frequently use the illustrations in day-to-day life. It’s something entirely different, I think, to actually grasp the concept, which is that pretty much everything we do has consequences - for us, the people who surround us and ultimately, the whole planet. When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Surely my personal - and what we often think of as ‘private’ - actions don’t do anyone any harm, or benefit come to that. Well, actually, yes, they can and do because - ‘ripple effect’! However alone and isolated we may sometimes feel, we are connected, whether we want to be or not; we are part of a self-contained eco-system of humans and animals and plants: commerce, agriculture, creativity. All our various human activities impact the world we inhabit.
Ripples
Ripples
Ripples
We all know the analogy of ripples in a pond, radiating outwards from the entry point of a stone throw, and the ‘chaos theory’ that when a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon, it can change the weather half a world away (there are lots of versions of this one, take your pick). We understand the concept and may frequently use the illustrations in day-to-day life. It’s something entirely different, I think, to actually grasp the concept, which is that pretty much everything we do has consequences - for us, the people who surround us and ultimately, the whole planet. When you put it like that, it sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Surely my personal - and what we often think of as ‘private’ - actions don’t do anyone any harm, or benefit come to that. Well, actually, yes, they can and do because - ‘ripple effect’! However alone and isolated we may sometimes feel, we are connected, whether we want to be or not; we are part of a self-contained eco-system of humans and animals and plants: commerce, agriculture, creativity. All our various human activities impact the world we inhabit.