EVERY CHOICE CHANGES EVERYTHING
BUTTERFLY
EFFECT
One decision. Three honest futures. See the realistic best case, most likely case, and worst case of any big life decision, before you make it.
WHAT YOUR PATHS LOOK LIKE
You land a new role within two or three months at the same or better pay...
You spend a few months searching. Money gets tight, but you find your feet...
The search stretches past six months and your savings take a real hit...
01 — THE APPLICATION
Built like a place,
not a form.
— OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS —
You land a new role within two or three months, interviewing from a place of choice instead of desperation.
You spend a few months searching. Money gets tight, but you find your feet.
MAPPING YOUR PATHS
WHAT ELSE THIS AFFECTS
02 — REAL DECISIONS
Made for moments like these.
THE SOLDIER
"Reenlist, ETS, or Guard? Three contracts, three lives. I ran all three before I signed anything."
THE STUDENT
"Drop out and take the job offer, or finish the degree? Seeing the ten-year worst case changed my answer."
THE PARENT
"Moving states for a raise sounds simple until you map what it does to the kids, the house, the family nearby."
THE SWITCHER
"Fifteen years in one career. I needed to see the honest cost of starting over before I could commit to it."
03 — WHY TODAY
An application today's world actually needs.
SOLVES A PROBLEM
People facing major decisions today are flooded with generic advice, biased opinions, and information overload. This application solves that by showing honest, structured outcomes with no agenda attached.
IMPROVES A PROCESS
Decision-making is usually scattered: asking friends, searching online, second-guessing. This tool improves that process by organizing any decision into three clear paths across three time horizons, in under a minute.
OFFERS EFFICIENCY
No account, no installation, no internet required after loading. What once took hours of research and conversations becomes a single, instant, private session in the browser.
THE PERSON BEHIND IT
Matthew Whittingham
I'm Matthew Whittingham, a U.S. Army Soldier and a student pursuing a career in computer science. I built The Butterfly Effect with one goal: to help people make informed decisions when the path forward isn't clear.
In the Army, hard decisions are part of the job. In conflict, in leadership, in the day to day, you learn to weigh outcomes fast, and you learn to lean on your team and your leaders when the call is bigger than you. But difficult decisions aren't unique to the military. Spending your savings on something big. Deciding whether to chase a dream or finish a degree. Everyone hits moments where every option carries real weight.
This application was made for anyone standing at one of those crossroads: a way to see your paths honestly, best case to worst case, and make the strongest decision for yourself and your family.
About You
This tool is not about us. It is about you. The more it knows about your situation, the more your paths will actually fit your life. Fill in what you are comfortable sharing, and the prototype will use it automatically. Nothing here is saved or sent anywhere; it lives only on this page while it is open.
Your profile is empty. The prototype will still work, just less personal.
Why we ask
A 22 year old with no dependents and a 45 year old with two kids can type the exact same decision and face very different realities. Your age changes your recovery window. Your family situation changes the weight of the worst case. Your priorities change which path deserves your attention. That is why the paths speak to you, not to an average person.
APPLICATION PROTOTYPE — INFORMATIONAL PAGE
The Prototype
Type your decision below and see three honest paths across three time horizons. Full details about how this prototype works are provided beneath the application.
Examples (click to use):
Category:
Describe your decision above
You will get three realistic paths for every stage of the timeline.
What this prototype is
The Butterfly Effect is a fully functional decision path modeling application. The user describes a real decision in plain language, optionally adds personal context, and receives a best case, most likely case, and worst case projection for the near term, the mid term, and the long term, plus the secondary areas of life the decision tends to affect.
How outcomes are generated
The prototype works in three steps. First, a keyword classifier reads the decision text and identifies which of eight life domains it belongs to (career, military, business, education, finance, health, relationships, or location). Second, it retrieves outcome narratives for that domain from a built-in library of 216 hand-written variants, selecting different versions on every run. Third, it personalizes the most likely path using any age or situation details the user provides. No artificial intelligence service or external data source is involved at runtime.
How it is built
The application is written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with no frameworks and no external dependencies. It runs entirely in the browser, requires no installation or account, works offline once loaded, and stores nothing the user types. It was designed and built as the final capstone prototype for ITCC298.
MARKETING PAGE
Why It Works
Most decision tools tell you what to do. We think that is exactly backwards.
3
honest paths for every decision, not one sugarcoated answer
0
pieces of advice given. The decision stays completely yours
100%
private. Nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere
Honest by design
Every decision shows you a worst case, on purpose. Tools that only show upside feel good and help nobody. Seeing the hard path clearly is what lets you prepare for it, or walk toward it anyway with open eyes.
Built around your timeline
A decision does not happen in a moment. It unfolds over months and years. Your paths are mapped across three time periods so you can see the near future, the adjustment period, and the long game, side by side.
Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for
The whole application is two small files that run in your browser, even offline. No account. No subscription. No data collection. Open it, think clearly, close it.
WHAT EARLY TESTERS SAY
"I typed in the decision I'd been avoiding for months. Seeing the worst case written out plainly made it less scary, not more."
Early tester — career change
"No login, no upsell popups, nothing tracking me. I ran four different decisions in ten minutes."
Early tester — relocation
"It never told me what to do, and that's exactly why I trusted it. The decision stayed mine."
Early tester — education
SIMPLE PRICING
FREE
$0
everything you need to decide
- Unlimited decisions
- All three paths, all three time horizons
- All eight life domains
- Works offline, nothing stored
PREMIUM — PLANNED
$2.99
one-time upgrade, coming soon
- Expanded path library and niche decision types
- Side-by-side comparison of two decisions
- Printable decision report (PDF)
- Supports continued development
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is this actually free?
Yes. The full working prototype is free, with no account and no ads. The premium tier is a planned future upgrade, not a gate on anything you see today.
Does it give me advice?
No, by design. It shows you a realistic best case, most likely case, and worst case so you can decide with clear eyes. The decision is always yours.
Is my information private?
Completely. Nothing you type is saved, sent, or stored anywhere. Everything disappears the moment you close the page.
Where do the outcomes come from?
A built-in library of 216 hand-written outcome narratives, organized by decision type and time horizon, personalized with any details you choose to share. No AI service runs behind it.
Your next big decision deserves a clearer picture.
User Guide
Everything you need to know, in plain language. No experience required.
1. Getting started
There is nothing to install and no account to create. The application runs right here in your browser and works even without an internet connection once the page is open. Head to the page whenever you are ready.
2. Describe your decision
Type the decision you are considering into the large box, the same way you would say it to a friend. For example: "Quit my job to go back to school." If you are not sure what to write, click one of the example buttons and the box fills itself in.
3. Make it yours (optional)
Visit the page to save your age, situation, and priorities. The prototype uses them automatically. Or click "Add your situation" inside the prototype to enter them there. Either way, nothing is stored after you close the page.
4. Read your three paths
Click "Show me my paths." For each time period you get a best case (green, up arrow), a most likely case (gold, right arrow), and a worst case (red, down arrow). Below them, "What else this affects" points out other parts of your life the decision touches, like money, family, or health.
5. Explore the views
Timeline shows your outcomes in order over time. Snapshot compares all time periods side by side for one path type at a time. Use the Copy button to save your results, or Re-run to see the same paths with fresh wording. You cannot break anything by clicking around.
A few important reminders
The paths are realistic estimates based on how similar decisions tend to unfold. They are not predictions and not advice. For decisions involving serious money, legal, medical, or emotional matters, use this as a starting point and then talk with a qualified professional. The final call is always yours.