Subject: Religious Stories

Posted by Bill Ellis on 7/17/2005
In Reply To:Religious Stories Posted by Linda Booth Sweeney on 7/15/2005

Message:

I missed any previous message on "When a Butterfly Sneezes."
I hope that it is about the concept of Complexity Theory that the flap of a butterfly's wing in China can be the trigger for a hurricane in
the Atlantic. Initial conditions are so minimal and so illusive that
predictions of any kind are impossible. Humans are not only incapable of predicting the weather but of accurately predicting any future. It also suggests that a small act of kindness anywhere in the world may trigger major transformations of the mindsets of humanity.
This comes back to Seuss's "The Littlest Who." It took only the
insignificant voice of the littlest Who added to the shouting of
everyone else in Whoville to save the town.

I'm not sure that these aren't religious stories. At least they have an important message for everyone participation.

Bill Ellis
PS: To add a trivia. "Flapping Butterfly Wings" was the title of my
1998 E.F.Schumacher Lecture that triggered the online writing of the book "Creating Learning Communities" that included a brief chapter by me on the concept. It can be read on:
or in a published version.