Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2017 August 8

= August 8 =

Domino effect then...
If the domino effect is 1D, or 'linear', then what is the 2D equivalent? And "cascading" is 1D, right? Because it always feels a bit 2D to me. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 11:07, 8 August 2017 (UTC)


 * The domino and cascading effects do not need to be linear. It is easy to think of them as such and they are usually used to describe a sequence of events in a story, which is linear. In other words, they are not scientific terms with strict definitions. They are literary terms that may be used to describe just about anything you like. If you want to refer to a multiplicative effect, you can use ripple effect to get the literary allusion to a growing effect from a small event. 209.149.113.5 (talk) 12:03, 8 August 2017 (UTC)
 * Linguistically, ripple effect has a multi-dimensional quality to it that domino effect does not, but as 209.149 notes, these are not strict definitions. In Br.Eng. I believe the phrase "knock-on effect" has similar, though subtly different, connotations as well..  -- Jayron 32 12:16, 8 August 2017 (UTC)


 * This general notion comes in to a lot of areas of physics and math, and there's lots of related terminology. Propagation is a very general term that often connotes a situation where one bit sets off the next, e.g. wave propagation. The domino thing is actually a type of wave propagation via excitable media. See also reaction-diffusion, which produces all kinds of fascinating 2D (and 1D and n-D) propagating cascades. I think if you want to be clear and semi-technical, "wave propagation" is a good general term for situations where "domino effect" or "ripple effect" might not work. (all these articles have cool images/animations, make sure you at least glance, even if you don't want to read all the differential equations and such :) SemanticMantis (talk) 19:59, 8 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Chain reactions often propagate in three dimensions, in spite of the 1-d implication of the word "chain".--Wikimedes (talk) 03:36, 9 August 2017 (UTC)


 * Note that dominoes can actually be used in 1D, 2D, or 3D (although going higher does require something like a stepped ramp to support them). StuRat (talk) 03:44, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Thank you, thank you, thank you! That is all very helpful! :) Anna Frodesiak (talk) 22:15, 9 August 2017 (UTC)