Cascade effect

A cascade effect is an inevitable and sometimes unforeseen chain of events due to an act affecting a system.

In biology, according to Mold and Stein, the term cascade refers to "a process that, once started, proceeds stepwise to its full, seemingly inevitable, conclusion".

An example would be ordering a full body CT scan without a clear reason, finding an incidentaloma and undergoing a debilitating surgery to remove it, despite the fact that the condition was asymptomatic and possibly benign.

Low-level hazards can generate broad chain effects if vulnerabilities are widespread in the system or not addressed properly in sub-systems.

This is related to the technique of isolating single effects and seeing them as possible autonomous cause-effect sequences, while in some events cascading effects coincide with secondary or intangible ones.The figure above illustrates the differences between: (a) linear paths of chain -effects, and (b) complex paths of cascades.