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The
Basics
The
easiest way to understand the power of this process is to look at a far
simpler system then our own.
When
water molecules group together, they can exist in any of three states:
gas, liquid, or air. In all three of these states, the
individual water molecules remain completely
unchanged.
In
other words, without altering individual water molecules,
a gathering of them can express themselves in three completely
different ways.
If
water molecules express as ice, claiming it is only "water
nature" (as opposed to human nature) is only partially right.
We
don't need to change the individual in order to radically change the
system. A gathering of human beings contain expressions far beyond that of water.
Ice
to steam is nothing compared to what we could do.
Without
changing the individual nature of any single person, a
community or society of people can express an enormous range of
possibilities. Some of the best possibilities have been dormant for as
long has history has been written.
Just
as with water, the key is our connections with each other.
But
this is not a simple case of making "better" connections. The rule of
the cause and effect that we are steeped in does not work in complex
communities or any complex system.
For
example, in
the late 19th century, the US forest service decided that if they
wanted fewer fires, they should put out as many of them as they could.
Simple cause and effect ... right?
But
this is cause and effect thinking. The libraries bulge with cases where
this type of problem solving has failed. Still, our
conditioning
is so powerful that it is still the first tool we reach for
when
faced with a crisis.
In
the case of the forest service, the
policy of "zero tolerance" was a direct cause in the incidence of
forest fires increasing.
In
a complex system, heading straight towards a goal frequently aggrevates
the problem. In 2004, the Financial Times published an article called Obliquity that
documented this tendency in business terms. (See Obliquity)
"...the most profitable companies are not the most profit-oriented."
The nature of any complex
system is determined by the manner in which we connect. Even a little
bit of knowledge can alter our connections in such a way that our
experience in society completely changes.
For
example, everyone being nice to one another will not necessarily
produce a nice society. The link between the individual connections and
the resulting state of our community or society is far more fantastic.
Have
you ever seen a flock or birds or a school of fish moving as if they
were guided by a single mind? For years, biologists sought to
understand how they could possibly do this.
The
problem was their changes in direction happen simultaneously. If there
was a leader, the followers would lag very slightly behind and point to
the leader. This
was not happening at all.
There
was no leader.
So
who or what was
controlling their movements? The biologists looked for anything that
could explain it, including such things as some form of telepathy.
It
turned out to be something surprisingly simple. Even though each
individual bird or fish was a complex organism, when they flocked or
schooled they followed a very simple rule: keep as close to your
neighbour as you can without bumping into anyone.
When this
model is put on a computer, we see exactly the same movements
as we see in the real world.
Even
the simplist changes in our connections with one another can have
profound affects in how we experience our own society, and how other
living things experience us.
For
example, there are those who live their daily lives feeling enslaved to
the clock. And yet, only a few hundred years ago, most people on earth
lived and died without ever knowing what time it was, even though time
was always there, waiting to enslave us ... (insert melodramatic music
here)
In
the past, clocks were extremely rare and expensive. Clock
watching was impossible for the common folk. As such, time pressure
could not exist for them the way it does for us who live in modern
societies.
Can
you imagine how your life would change today if we suddenly had no way
to keep time? How would you meet anyone? When would you get up? Being
late for work would be impossible.
Now,
imagine how timeless peasants would react if we travelled back in time
to warn them
that the knowledge of time would forever change how they lived. Do
you think the timeless peasants would believe you when you confidently
state that a shortage of time would create
stress and stress can cause death?
Think
about the stressful situations in your life. Now imagine the exact same
thing
but without any time pressures. There will be exceptions (there always
are) but frequently the stress vanishes the moment the time pressure
does.
It's usually quite a surprise
once we realize how such little things can create an enormous
impact in the world out there. The nature of how we connect with each
other and the world creates forces that in turn determine how we
connect with each other. This feedback loop generates an invisible
influence that touches all of us.
Time
was always there. It was knowing what it was that transformed society
because that
knowledge changed how we connected. No laws,
effort, committees, policies, or armies
were required for change to happen.
It is an irresistable force
emerging from the patterns created by our coalescing power.
So what are some of the key
elements determining how our power coalesces? They are all contained in
how we connect.
So let us look at one of the
most important elements determining how we connect.
Go
to The Solution - Part 4
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