Somewhere out there is a butterfly that owes Jim Goodwin a drink.
With the flap of a wing, ultimately swelling into the winds which shaped the corner flag such that Ross McCrorie’s early sliding clearance bounced behind off it rather than out for a throw, it created the initial conditions for Livingston to begin exposing the chaos theory of Aberdeen’s set-piece defending.
In truth – however scarcely was Connor Barron’s self-preserving handball detectable – the Dons were fortunate to concede goals to just two of Livi’s seven first-half corners.
Each one looped into a panic-filled box, greeted by a bevvy of defenders who regularly managed to get touches on the ball, but never strong enough ones to clear the danger zone.
Football’s simplest and most field-levelling tactic, exercised to devastating effect.
‘Cormack Park will be a hive of activity’
The frailty will occupy the Aberdeen manager’s thoughts whilst the rest of the football world is occupied with events elsewhere.
It was ironic that, having questioned the suitability of the artificial pitch for top-flight play, Goodwin watched his team totally undone by balls flung in yards above it.
Indeed in their frantic, though futile, campaign to drag themselves back into the game, it was Aberdeen – with their array of flicks and chops and Duk’s extraordinary pace – who appreciated the consistency of the surface more.
If solace is to be found, it is in the fact that other results may well still give Aberdeen the chance to head into the mid-season interval inside the top three should they beat Dundee United in the Premiership’s final pre-World Cup match, and that without ever having hit what they would describe as their highest gear.
They have the look of a side which has much yet to give; there may be no matches for five weeks, but Cormack Park will be a hive of activity.
Conversation