causal loop
Self-perpetuating sequence
A causal loop is a sequence of events where each causes the next, with the final event causing the first—a self-reinforcing or self-negating cycle.
In time travel fiction, a causal loop is a paradox where an effect becomes its own cause: The hero goes back in time and becomes the person who inspired him to go back.
Feedback loops in systems theory work similarly: Anxiety causes insomnia, which causes more anxiety.
- feedbackReturned response data
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- bootstrapStart without external resources
- recursionProcess invoking itself
- cycleRepeating sequence of events
endless cycle · time travel · ouroboros · chicken and egg · self-fulfilling · self-fulfilling prophecy · fixed point · predestination · grandfather · closed · infinite · regression · destiny · fate · determinism · wormhole · temporal · bootstrap paradox
causal looplinear progression
Movement in one direction only
causal chain · domino effect · chain of events · chain reaction · cascade
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