Champagne corks, chaos and butterfly wings

by Martin Field
I was reflecting one night, over an aged cognac, on chaos theory. Popularised by the notion that the gentle motion of a butterfly’s wings in, say, Noosa, may very well cause a typhoon in, say, the Philippines.
Extraordinary, I thought, and hard to believe, but then again all things are possible.
How does one separate theory from fact? I wondered.
By scientific experimentation, I answered myself readily.
So, just a moment ago, I popped the cork of a bottle of champagne.
I do not take responsibility for the consequences of this action but, wherever you are in the world, I say to you:
‘Do you notice a slight freshening of the breeze? Did the dogs just start to bark?
‘Be very afraid!’

1 thought on “Champagne corks, chaos and butterfly wings

  1. Brett

    It took its time and the dogs didn’t bark, but there was a slight susurration amongst the bottle tags in my wine cellar. Good to know the reason… Keep up the experiments: try a magnum next time!

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