From the first episode (Challenges of Life) of the new BBC series Life. YouTube video posted by pacificwhiteside; hat-tip Jazzy720 of DelphiForums for the heads-up.

It's nice to know that there is, at least, some signs of intelligent life on this planet.

From Wikipedia:

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A Cascade Effect is an unforeseen chain of events due to an act affecting a system. If there is a possibility that the cascade effect will have a negative impact on the system, it is possible to analyze the effects with a consequence/impact analysis.
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Cascade effects have been described for natural events (the removal of one species influencing an ecosystem enough to result in the loss of other species), in science and in finance. There is just one quibble I have with the definition, however: they're not always unforeseen.

Sometimes, people have to make decisions based on factors they cannot control, and the result of failure to account for undesired behavior or unexpected results can often be foreseen. Take, for example, the old For want of a nail rhyme:

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For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
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That's a cascade effect.

It plays out in life, if someone loses their job and ends up on the streets, or can't afford healthcare. It plays out in economics -- a major plant shuts down in a small down, or a mine closes, and the surrounding population is devastated. The larger businesses like hotels and some restaurants and movie theaters close; perhaps that causes some means of public transportation like trains or small airports to close, which further squeezes the area's economic lifeblood...and on it goes.

These effects are globally observable when it comes to the topic of climate change:

One shouldn't confuse the Cascade Effect for a Rube Goldberg effect, even though I think both share a distant relationship with a chaotic little butterfly and its constant net-in-hand pursuer, Murphy.

While we're on the topic, here's an example of a Rube Goldberg device, just for you:

Happy Saturday. Relax a bit, and remember:

This is an Open Thread, and you're double-parked in the Twilight Zone...

I posted the following as a comment in the recent DailyKos diary You Are Not Alone by noweasels, but thought it was thoughtful enough to also post as a separate piece -- please also read the piece by noweasels, and thank her for the inspiration.

The rest of what follows below the fold is essentially the entire comment -- two personal submissions for remembrance today that I submitted, plus a parting thought.

...if you're still with me, then jump...

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years

Those lines constitute the beginning of the poem The Dash by Linda Ellis.