The Butterfly Effect
Posted by Jim on Sep 29, 2008
Butterfly Effect: phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. Small variations of the initial condition of a dynamical system may produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system.
I’m not sure there is a better way to describe this years college football scene than chaos. And one of the most publisized parts of Chaos Theory is know as the “Butterfly Effect”. It basically goes like this, A butterfly flaps it wings in China, and wing flap causes a slight variation in the air currents that cause storms to move or change thousands of miles away.
So what are this years BYU football butterflies? These would be single plays that may have had significant impact on the outcome of a season. Example, In 1984, Kyle Morrell’s timed leap over the Hawaii offensive line, helped determine the national champion.
So nominate your plays of the year.
I think that Ole miss blocking Florida’s extra point may help push a perfect storm right over Provo
Jacquizz Rodgers rush for 2 yards for a TD against USC, giving OSU the 6 point edge they needed to beat USC, now ranked behind BYU.
Jorgensen’s blocked extra-point. Without that, nothing else matters.