The controversy has not yet been settled, but the most recent evidence seems to favor the sea gulls." Following suggestions from colleagues, in later speeches and papers Lorenz used
the more poetic butterfly. According to Lorenz, when he failed to provide a title for a talk he was to present at the 139th meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1972, Philip Merilees concocted Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? as a title. Although a butterfly flapping its wings has remained constant in
the expression of this concept, the location of the butterfly,
the consequences, and the location of the consequences have varied widely.