The butterfly effect refers to a small change in one part of the world creating a large change somewhere else.
Mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz suggested that the mere flapping of a butterfly's wings can change the weather across the world.
And Ashton Kutcher, of course, showed us on the big screen that the butterfly effect doesn't always lead to good outcomes. His film, The Butterfly Effect, was panned by the critics. It scored a measly 34 per cent on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer.
But as we like to say, critics schmitics [the audience score was 81 per cent].
Anyhow, we're pretty sure 11-year-old Lucy Elsley wasn't thinking about this when a butterfly landed on her fingers at the weekend, bringing a big smile to her face.
Herald photographer Jonathan Carroll snapped this photo of Lucy at Newcastle Beer Festival in King Edward Park.
So what does it mean when a butterfly lands on your fingers? Does it mean a cyclone is headed for China? Or is it just good luck?
When moments like this happen, Topics turns to our spirit and dream guides and, of course, scientists and mathematicians.
Our guides tell us that butterflies are quite a spiritual species. They represent change, transformation and hope. Could it be that an angel or spirit guide may be trying to send a message of hope or peace through the butterfly when it lands on you?
Could it be that you're going through a metamorphosis? Perhaps you're finding your wings, instead of crawling along on the ground eating dirt.
Perhaps you're growing into the person you need to be. Or perhaps the butterfly is here to remind you of your playful self.
Our scientific and mathematical guides, though, tell us this is all a bunch of hogwash. It's just the right time of year for butterflies to fly around and come in contact with humans. Plus, all the bees are dead due to the NSW Department of Primary Industries' eradication program to stop the varroa mite. So butterflies are in vogue.
Hang on a sec, though. Is that a photo of a butterfly or a moth? Now we have butterflies in our stomach.
Aurora Australis
Last week's story about the Aurora Australis being spotted through a camera lens on the Central Coast reminded Hamilton's Peter Newey of a similar experience.
He saw the aurora with the naked eye "quite clearly above the horizon to the south, while riding a motorbike between Singleton and Scone one night in late 1950s". The "glowing redness" was a "wonderful sight".
Greed Inflation?
Sally McManus, secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, tweeted this on Thursday: "Qantas joining Coles, Woolworths and CBA posting huge profit results. Inflation is being fed by companies putting prices up more than they need. We are seeing a greed-price inflation spiral."
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