the resulting graph, called the lorenz attractor, is in fact a phase-space representation of this simplified model of the weather. the graph's similarity to the shape of a butterfly caught on as a way to illustrate the concept of "sensitive dependence." so it's a magical coincidence that we explain this by sometimes saying that a butterfly flapping its wings in china might cause an infinitesimal change in wind current that could lead to a hurricane in florida several months later: the butterfly effect. >> first butterfly of the season. kind of warms your heart, don't you think? hey, did i ever tell you about how chaos theory's connected to heart dynamics? >> think it's going to rain? >> feels humid, all right. good air for a knuckleball. >> that wouldn't have anything to do with turbulence, would it? >> well, a ball that spins, say, a fastball, if thrown correct, can take a more predictable, uh, newtonian path as it moves through the air. >> but a ball that doesn't spin? >> well, that's where celestial mechanics meets chaos theory. >> baseball and mathematics, two great american pastimes. so

the resulting graph, called the lorenz attractor, is in fact a phase-space representation of this simplified model of the weather. the graph's similarity to the shape of a butterfly caught on as a way to illustrate the concept of "sensitive dependence." so it's a magical coincidence that we explain this by sometimes saying that a butterfly flapping its wings in china might cause an infinitesimal change in wind current that could lead to a hurricane in florida several months later: the butterfly effect. >> first butterfly of the season. kind of warms your heart, don't you think? hey, did i ever tell you about how chaos theory's connected to heart dynamics? >> think it's going to rain? >> feels humid, all right. good air for a knuckleball. >> that wouldn't have anything to do with turbulence, would it? >> well, a ball that spins, say, a fastball, if thrown correct, can take a more predictable, uh, newtonian path as it moves through the air. >> but a ball that doesn't spin? >> well, that's where celestial mechanics meets chaos theory. >> baseball and mathematics, two great american pastimes. so