The butterfly effect,would you try it if you could???

20 Sep 2004

We watched an absolutely fantastic film the other night,really thought film is The butterfly effect and i'd advise everyone to watch it.
Anyway it got me thinking :shock: ,the plot is about a lad who has blackouts,and its only when he's in adulthood that he starts to remember then finds out that he can go back to these blackouts and change the events that happened whilst he was blacked out.
Changing these events have repocussions on his future and blah blah blah (i won't say anymore and really spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it).
Now the question is,if you could go back to a particular point in your life and change the events would you and what sort of effect would it have on your present life (are you still with me dunno

)

:
I know people have done threads on life changing events before,but this involves the repocussions it would have on the rest of your life.
There are a few things that i would have liked to change in my life,but the first one would result in me never meeting Clare,which would be second happened at the start of the year and was very upsetting for me,but if i was to change the events so that a certain something never happened then me and Clare would have possibly never got into the swinging scene,so thats another no no.

20 Sep 2004

I would turn back time and be in my mothers womb,while i was there i would push my chest together so that later in life my tits would actually be close enough together for me to actually have a cleavage without pushing them together confused

No seriuosly i would change a personal event that did get us into swinging in a round about way.I would change it so that it didnt happen (so that no hurt or pain was ever involved,only happiness!) at all and that we'd still have got here in the end anyway.

20 Sep 2004

Quote by Clare_Lincs
I would turn back time and be in my mothers womb,while i was there i would push my chest together so that later in life my tits would actually be close enough together for me to actually have a cleavage without pushing them together
No seriuosly i would change a personal event that did get us into swinging in a round about way.I would change it so that it didnt happen (so that no hurt or pain was ever involved,only happiness!) at all and that we'd still have got here in the end anyway.

Theres nothing wrong with your tits woman,theyre absolutely for the event that happened it's in the past now and it's not come between us,so it doesnt matter anymore :therethere: worship

20 Sep 2004

I'd probably take a page out of my first ex-husband's second wife's book (did you get that?) and shoot a lot more people....
Other than that, no. All the heartache, heartbreak, trials and tribulations are what has made me who I am today. I like me as I am today.
But if I could control the future, now there's an idea :twisted:

20 Sep 2004

it is very difficult because good and bad things are so closely interwoven......i am a single guy but do have a daughter , that is the light of my life. her mother caused me lots of grief and heartache at one point in my life.......but could never turn back the clock because without meeting her i would not have my wonderful daughter.
In the end i think i would just say i have learnt to take what comes my way and try to make the most of it.

20 Sep 2004

Just like to agree with you mate it was a cracking film very well thought out.
As for life changing events well I wouldnt change a thing....
Everythings coming up Millhouse

20 Sep 2004

knowing what i know now... i'd have probably go back and do more drugs at uni.

20 Sep 2004

Quote by Steve_Lincs
We watched an absolutely fantastic film the other night,really thought film is The butterfly effect and i'd advise everyone to watch it.

Isn't it bloody brilliant?
We watched it at the weekend and it really got us thinking.
One of my biggest regrets is that I ever started smoking but if I hadn't then I wouldn't have hung out with the other smokers at school/college/uni/work and maybe never met certain people, got involved in certain events as a result... on and on ... until present day - maybe I wouldn't be living where I do, doing what I do, have my daughter, friends, love of my life etc, etc.
It really is fascinating and thought-provoking stuff that makes my mind go into over-drive.
There are one or two things that I would go back and change and I believe (having thought it out very carefully) that it wouldn't affect any present events, other than make me feel better. That's all I can say.
If you haven't seen The Butterfly Effect - rent it out NOW!!! Another good one is Donnie Darko. Brilliant stuff.

20 Sep 2004

Quote by Libra-Love
Other than that, no. All the heartache, heartbreak, trials and tribulations are what has made me who I am today. I like me as I am today.

Well, i cant add anything to that lol

20 Sep 2004

Good film wasn't it.
It's actually a lot deeper than it may seem at first.
First, he couldn't go back to just ANY time - just the time when he had the blackouts and wrote about them - he had to read his diary to jump back to the time of the blackout. So it isn't an unlimited choice - the times you can go back to are limited and "pre-set".
(it doesn't spoil the film to write that here, as it's covered in the reviews)
Second - as soon as he has changed it he "wakes" up in the new present, with all the changes in the last 6 years in place - it isn't the same thing as going back in time and starting over, living through it all.
Third - and this is the main point - the "Butterfly Effect" is it changes a lot more than you can forsee over the seven years - and it turned out for the worse each time.
If you apply it to your own life, and we did this after watching it - it turns out to be a lot more complicated than picking a day and going back to change one event. But if you do it - think about ALL the events that won't happen after you change that one thing, and then imagine all the things that will happen in their place. It's quite far- reaching.
Rachel
wink

20 Sep 2004

Quote by chick0074
Good film wasn't it.
It's actually a lot deeper than it may seem at first.
First, he couldn't go back to just ANY time - just the time when he had the blackouts and wrote about them - he had to read his diary to jump back to the time of the blackout. So it isn't an unlimited choice - the times you can go back to are limited and "pre-set".
(it doesn't spoil the film to write that here, as it's covered in the reviews)
Second - as soon as he has changed it he "wakes" up in the new present, with all the changes in the last 6 years in place - it isn't the same thing as going back in time and starting over, living through it all.
Third - and this is the main point - the "Butterfly Effect" is it changes a lot more than you can forsee over the seven years - and it turned out for the worse each time.
If you apply it to your own life, and we did this after watching it - it turns out to be a lot more complicated than picking a day and going back to change one event. But if you do it - think about ALL the events that won't happen after you change that one thing, and then imagine all the things that will happen in their place. It's quite far- reaching.
Rachel

Well said! That's exactly what I emant when I said about regretting starting smoking. i think if I went back and made the decision NOT to smoke, then the repercussions of that could be dramatically different to what I know now. Possibly for the worse.
I'm tying myself up in knots just thinking about it. Should've left it to you, Rachel.

20 Sep 2004

i think it is a really strange concept to even imagine....... i have made mistakes in my life and have cocked up big time on more occasions then i care to remember......BUT.....saying that i would not change anything...as all the bad times and problems in our lives not just mine make us who we are, better stronger people..who are able to deal with worse problems as they arise!!! so i like to take what life has thrown at me on the chin and laugh! the best cure all i believe.
soph and nige
______________________________________________________
sing.... 3 is the magic number!!

25 Sep 2004

Quote by Starsign_2
i think it is a really strange concept to even imagine....... i have made mistakes in my life and have cocked up big time on more occasions then i care to remember......BUT.....saying that i would not change anything...as all the bad times and problems in our lives not just mine make us who we are, better stronger people..who are able to deal with worse problems as they arise!!! so i like to take what life has thrown at me on the chin and laugh! the best cure all i believe.

Like many others, I have had more than a fair share of ups and downs throughout my life. I have found that I do more "soul searching" as a result of the downs than the ups. Each session of soul searching seems to be deeper than the last and the results more profound.
This started in my late teens/early twenties during and following what I can only express as a near death experience, and continues now.
I have often thought "If only I had (or hadn't) . . . . . . . . ."
But, as others have said, all the good and all the bad things have come together to make me who, and what, I am today.
So - given the opportunity to 'go back' and change things - I don't think I'd change a thing. If I could find a way to remove the hurt I have or may have caused to others, then that would okay. All in all, and too quote something I heard once - "If I had it all to do again, I wouldn't change a thing"
Just my thoughts.

25 Sep 2004

I wouldn't change a thing... its not perfect, but the past made me what I am today, and I am happy with how I turned out. I would however hate to have to re-live everything again like in groundhog day... how borring would that be having to go through school etc all over again when you already know what will happen!!!! -- of course I would probably be better with the ladies... I learnt how to flirt properly rather late in life redface

ops:

25 Sep 2004

Hard to say because the real consideration is how would the changes affect the rest of your life?
I would be tempted to change the medical hassles I've had over the years as removing them wouldn't result in me NOT meeting any of the important people in my life ... however, the things we experience make you what you are today, some things which are bad make you a stronger, wiser and hopefully a better person as a result. I'm probably still a git though :lol2:
... But part of me also thinks that a lot depends on the type of person you are inherently and how you react to adversity is already within you. For instance, I used to work with 2 people who went through similarly difficult experiences, one through drugs, both of them ended up living rough on park benches etc but pulled themselves together to hold down responsible jobs. One of them was the nicest person you could possibly meet, very bright, cheerful, popular ... the other one, also very bright but very bitter and carried a huge chip around with her.
Boy, can I waffle ... :sleeping:

25 Sep 2004

Quote by Steve_Lincs
We watched an absolutely fantastic film the other night,really thought film is The butterfly effect and i'd advise everyone to watch it.
Anyway it got me thinking :shock: ,the plot is about a lad who has blackouts,and its only when he's in adulthood that he starts to remember then finds out that he can go back to these blackouts and change the events that happened whilst he was blacked out.
Changing these events have repocussions on his future and blah blah blah (i won't say anymore and really spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it).
Now the question is,if you could go back to a particular point in your life and change the events would you and what sort of effect would it have on your present life (are you still with me ) :
I know people have done threads on life changing events before,but this involves the repocussions it would have on the rest of your life.
There are a few things that i would have liked to change in my life,but the first one would result in me never meeting Clare,which would be second happened at the start of the year and was very upsetting for me,but if i was to change the events so that a certain something never happened then me and Clare would have possibly never got into the swinging scene,so thats another no no.

There are lots of things Id love to go back and change but then if I changed them I might not be the me that I am now! Who knows I might be a better me or even worse??
Im happy and accepting of what I have and prefer to be in control of my future now! To go back and rearrange the past to my suiting would fuck things up, in my opinion anyway!

25 Sep 2004

I do wish film makers and producers would put some effort into coming up with a title themselves, instead of pinching it from elsewhere. mad

The butterfly effect is a part of Chaos Theory. Advanced mathematics had nothing to do with this film. rolleyes

Harry0

25 Sep 2004

HarryO, you're absolutely right, of course.
I can't remember the proper quote of Chaos Theory - I'm sure you can?? Something about the flapping of a butterflies wing can cause a global tidal wave or something.... errrrmmm, the basis of chaos , I think, is "the sensitive dependence on initial conditions".
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, yes, while Chas Theory and the Butterfly Effect may seem to have nothing to do with Ashton Kutcher running back and forth in time, in this film it is relevant. The idea that one tiny event (the flapping of a butterfly's wing or, in this case, going back in time to change one singular event) can cause so much change is basically what the film is saying.
Phew! I know, I know I'm really crap at putting things into words. Contrary to what you might think, I do actually think about what I'm typing before I type it. I'm just crap at expressing myself! Anyone want to attempt to translate all my posts for me?

25 Sep 2004

Quote by harry0
I do wish film makers and producers would put some effort into coming up with a title themselves, instead of pinching it from elsewhere.
The butterfly effect is a part of Chaos Theory. Advanced mathematics had nothing to do with this film.
Harry0

Proof that mathematicians are no fun ;) ;) ... now if it was based on something computery and they screwed up the accuracy I would be hopping mad.. :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x :x ... actualy if I think about it most films ARE like that!
I am waiting for a big screen version of "you've got mail" for the MSN generation... see how badly they can botch the terminology of that up (not to mention invent some bogus chat system with a ficticious name that is 5 times better and more omnipitent than MSN :roll: :roll: )

25 Sep 2004

Never seen the film, but me and Mrs RSAB2 have talked about such things and agree that 'life' is 1/2 choice 1/2 chance. If we could go back then yes maybe we would change the odd decision or 2. However the decisions we made were (probably) the best at the time and could have had the knock on effect of changing the 'chance' element..... Would I change anything "Hell NO"!!!
Phew .....deep....very deep.....
Mr & Mrs RSAB2 xxx :angel:

25 Sep 2004

Quote by Steve_Lincs
We watched an absolutely fantastic film the other night,really thought film is The butterfly effect and i'd advise everyone to watch it.
Anyway it got me thinking :shock: ,the plot is about a lad who has blackouts,and its only when he's in adulthood that he starts to remember then finds out that he can go back to these blackouts and change the events that happened whilst he was blacked out.
Changing these events have repocussions on his future and blah blah blah (i won't say anymore and really spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it).
Now the question is,if you could go back to a particular point in your life and change the events would you and what sort of effect would it have on your present life (are you still with me ) :
I know people have done threads on life changing events before,but this involves the repocussions it would have on the rest of your life.
There are a few things that i would have liked to change in my life,but the first one would result in me never meeting Clare,which would be second happened at the start of the year and was very upsetting for me,but if i was to change the events so that a certain something never happened then me and Clare would have possibly never got into the swinging scene,so thats another no no.

I would change the day I met my ex-wife, not that she was a bad person, but she turned out to be a manic depressive and a suicidal maniac, Continual suicide attempts, I felt sorry for her, I loved her dearly and looked after her for many years, but had to divorce her eventually as it made me very ill, I haven't seen her for many years, but my love for her will never die, sounds like a contradiction doesn't it ? but, it is true. :cry: :cry: :cry:

25 Sep 2004

I haven't seen the film and "The Butterfly Effect" sounds like an extremely inappropriate title for it (Harry O is right about the Chaos Theory - but my opinions on that are for another thread! rolleyes

). If the premise we are considering is "Would you change anything?" then, as many have said, it is a fascinating question - and one I think about frequently.
My glib answer to this is that I don't regret anything that I have done (including the mistakes - which are many) but I do regret some of the things that I didn't do - for example I didn't go to University immediately upon leaving school. However, if I had gone straight to University, then I would not have met my ex-wife which means that I would never have had my son. He was the absolute light of my life and although I never see him now (thanks to the aforementioned ex-wife mad

) I have to believe that I will see him again one day.
I agree with the previous posters who have said that their past experiences have made them what they are. "We are the sum of our experiences" is the way I usually choose to express it. I am now with the most wonderful person - the love of my life - and if my path had been any different then we may have never come across each other.
Sometimes there are events which appear to serve no useful purpose and which could be changed without affecting our lives. In my case it is the death of my brother, some six and a half years ago. I still miss him and it is the only thing that I would really change. It means that he never met Sappho and I know that they would have got on brilliantly and he would have been so happy that I had met someone so wonderful. I deeply regret that he never lived to see that.
Sorry to be heavy - but this thread did rather invite some profound thinking.
Changing the past would make us different people from who we are and the knock-on effects of that is something that we can scarcely comprehend.
Will

25 Sep 2004

If I could go back and have another go at life, I would want to change only one thing. My mother ended up drinking herself into an early grave. Although certain people tried to help her, she still ended up doing it. I wish I could go back and try again, somehow do more, do anything to help her. Not a day goes by where I don't wish it.
Sorry to get so heavy sad

25 Sep 2004

Quote by Kangaroo
If I could go back and have another go at life, I would want to change only one thing. My mother ended up drinking herself into an early grave. Although certain people tried to help her, she still ended up doing it. I wish I could go back and try again, somehow do more, do anything to help her. Not a day goes by where I don't wish it.
Sorry to get so heavy

If it's any help Kangaroo, I was married to an alcoholic and he constantly said he wanted help to kick the habit.... He never did and is still doing it now, much to the amazement of the doctors....
Ours was the second marriage the his drinking had ruined and the consequence is that he has 2 children (one from each marriage) that he never sees...
The bottom line is that they cant get past the craving for the bottle and even 6 weeks in jail (drink driving at 5 times over the limit) did nothing to sort him out... Within 3 hours of being released he was rolling drunk again...
All you can do is accept the fact that nothing you could have done would have changed history, only she could have done that...
kiss

Shireen
xxx

25 Sep 2004

Quote by shireen-steve
the fact that nothing you could have done would have changed history, only she could have done that...

That's what my father and I was told. Certain episodes in her life had pushed her to drink. Only she could have stopped it. It doesn't make it any easier though.
Still, as others have said. I am what I am through what has happened in my past. You are the sum of all your history I guess.
The Roo

25 Sep 2004

Quote by Kangaroo
Still, as others have said. I am what I am through what has happened in my past. You are the sum of all your history I guess.
The Roo

Aint that the truth wink

Shireen
xxx