1. The Time Factor: An event in the past may have an effect in the future. That effect may itself be the cause of other events. The classic example is the butterfly in the Amazon fluttering its wings and causing an alteration to the flow and intensity of air currents which over time results in a hurricane devastating a Pacific Island group.
2. The Human Factor: Human behaviour is influenced by nurture and nature. This means that although someone is born with certain genetic traits and abilities, types of environment and availability of opportunities can enhance or restrict their performance in all or any area of life. Highly intelligent people are often the targets of abuse which causes them to disfunction unless compensated for in counteractive ways.
3. The Metaphysical Factor: There is ample evidence that the physical state of existence is not the sum total of all realities. Without delving into the misguided practices of fake psychics and mystical fanatics it is possible to identify spiritual forces as being the cause of somethings and to evaluate the effects produced. Whilst a teenager travelling home from a rock concert late at night on a country road, asleep as a back seat passenger in a car whose driver and other passengers had also fallen asleep, I suddenly had a vivid dream of a luminous angel urgently informing me that if I didn't wake up and steer our vehicle to the left it would crash into an oncoming truck. I immediately woke and saw headlights directly in front of us, so shouting "Left, Left", I reached over to the steering wheel and turned our vehicle out of the path of a large truck and trailer unit which just missed us as it roared past. I am thankful to God and my guardian angel for being the intervening cause which produced the averting effect.