The beat of a butterfly's wing
The beat of a butterfly's wing can change history.
These days, with occasional cognitive dysfunction, I sometimes need visual reminders of where information and other stuff is. So far the last two years I have been leaving myself notes and clues on the laptop of where I can find various archived things I may be looking for. However, that only works for recent events . So I cannot verify the short story source of the title, (is the book at the back of the cupboard in the spare room or the inaccessible loft, and do I use today's limited energy looking for it, no). It may be a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury, a modern classic, so someone out there remind me please.
Today IBM called again (third time, thankfully on extended warranty) to fix laptop problems with CDRW, and I learned a little about 'Firm Ware', which the friendly IBM man explained, as neither hard nor soft.
As I sat watching him working with my laptop, in my mind I zoomed back in time to the 1970s at ICL in London, as support secretary for the sales team. I sent a though back in time to my younger self; (platform soled shoes, long floaty skirt, thin !) ... "Look how this has progressed from that time". She was sat in her office above London Weekend Television, typing up proposals for vast hardware and systems to install in client's air conditioned specially built rooms in their basements. Then, modems were telephone handsets in briefcases, and discs were about 12" high x 18" wide which had to be lifted onto 3 foot high disc drives (note: find the photo). To my younger self I sent a message about how quickly it will move on, to a laptop at home. People must have sent similar thoughts down the years to Mr Babbage (Charles Babbage 1792-1871).
Such thoughts sent back in time, do not change history like the Butterfly's wing story, because I am still sat here with no changes visible in me or my surroundings to what existed before I sent that thought back in time. How would I know ?
These days, with occasional cognitive dysfunction, I sometimes need visual reminders of where information and other stuff is. So far the last two years I have been leaving myself notes and clues on the laptop of where I can find various archived things I may be looking for. However, that only works for recent events . So I cannot verify the short story source of the title, (is the book at the back of the cupboard in the spare room or the inaccessible loft, and do I use today's limited energy looking for it, no). It may be a science fiction short story by Ray Bradbury, a modern classic, so someone out there remind me please.
Today IBM called again (third time, thankfully on extended warranty) to fix laptop problems with CDRW, and I learned a little about 'Firm Ware', which the friendly IBM man explained, as neither hard nor soft.
As I sat watching him working with my laptop, in my mind I zoomed back in time to the 1970s at ICL in London, as support secretary for the sales team. I sent a though back in time to my younger self; (platform soled shoes, long floaty skirt, thin !) ... "Look how this has progressed from that time". She was sat in her office above London Weekend Television, typing up proposals for vast hardware and systems to install in client's air conditioned specially built rooms in their basements. Then, modems were telephone handsets in briefcases, and discs were about 12" high x 18" wide which had to be lifted onto 3 foot high disc drives (note: find the photo). To my younger self I sent a message about how quickly it will move on, to a laptop at home. People must have sent similar thoughts down the years to Mr Babbage (Charles Babbage 1792-1871).
Such thoughts sent back in time, do not change history like the Butterfly's wing story, because I am still sat here with no changes visible in me or my surroundings to what existed before I sent that thought back in time. How would I know ?
posted by Sally at 4:18 pm
2 Comments:
Hi there, I have put a link to your blog on my page, hope that's OK.
Ray B wrote a short story called, I think, "The sound of thunder" about the Butterfly Effect, but I don't recall the phrase as a title elsewhere.
Thank you Charles, yes I think you are right that the title is the Butterfly Effect; it was the one beat of a butterfly's wing that set in motion initially minute changes through the following aeons that resulted in profound changes in the present time. Delighted to be linked on your page ... thank you.
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