Chaos Theory and Amplifying Feedback

Chaos theory and amplifying feedback

Amplifying feedback offers a way to understand the “butterfly effect” in chaos theory and a model of how change can occur.

Chaos theory presents a realistic paradigm for understanding the world. The classical scientific view does not.

The classical paradigm

In the classical scientific view, when you know a system’s initial conditions and the laws governing it, you can predict its future behaviour. This worldview treats the universe like a clockwork mechanism: precise, orderly, and predictable.

The chaos theory paradigm

Chaos theory challenges this assumption. It shows that while some regions of a system may be simple and predictable, other regions are so complex that it is impossible to measure initial conditions with sufficient accuracy to forecast what will happen next. This sensitivity to initial conditions is captured by the famous metaphor of the butterfly effect: the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil may lead to a tornado in Texas. The insight is that a very small change can lead to very large consequences.

The butterfly effect reflects everyday experience. A chance meeting, a single decision, or an unfortunate stumble can redirect a person’s life. Even systems once thought to be perfectly predictable are not immune to this uncertainty. While planetary motion appears regular in the short term, over long time scales, even the movement of planets is unpredictable.

Amplifying feedback

Amplifying feedback explains how such dramatic change can occur. Deviation-amplifying processes do not extinguish small changes; they reinforce them. This allows a minute change to cascade into a major transformation—exactly the dynamic suggested by the butterfly effect.

Upending the law of causality

As cybernetician Magoroh Maruyama observed:

“A sacred law of causality in classical philosophy stated that similar conditions produce similar effects. … In the light of the deviation-amplifying mutual causal process, the law of causality is now revised to state that similar conditions may result in dissimilar products.” (Maruyama, 1968)

Little things can be enough

This perspective is optimistic for those who seek change. It suggests that transformation does not always require massive effort or dramatic intervention. Apparently, small things, like attentive listening, a new insight, or developing a new habit, can initiate an amplifying process that reshapes a life.

Chaos theory has fascinated me since the mid-1980s, and I have written computer programs to explore aspects of the theory for myself. As a counsellor, I see other connections between chaos theory, amplifying feedback, and human change—but I will leave that for now.

References

Wikipedia has good articles on

  • Chaos Theory
  • The Mandelbrot Set

Loaded 13 Jan 2026