In the Chaos Theory of Careers, non-linearity refers to that fact that sometimes very small acts can lead to huge responses down the line, or the opposite, that sometimes very large acts lead to little or no difference later. Edward Lorenz the father of Chaos said famously at a Scientific meeting on Meteorology in 1972 “If a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, does it cause a tornado in Texas” this became known as the butterfly effect.

thanks to Karel Wearne who shared this with me…