Innovator's Field Day -- Learning from Nature

Nature furnishes a wealth of examples of the nature of 'relationships' that leads to chaos, complexities, emergence, uncertainty and transformations -- embraced by the Rapidinnovation model. 

In this post we would discuss one of the fundamental laws that relates two fundamental terms quantitiy and quality. We observe in Nature that quantity changes the quality of an emergence. Even a small quantity can produce a dramatic effect on the output quality or create a dramatic emergent pattern. This would give innovators a clue as to what we might we use to create new relations, new systems, new products or simply solve nagging social and business problems. 

For instance, let us examine the relation between the different kinds of electromagnetic waves and their frequencies, that is, the speed with which they pulsate or vibrate at a given energy level.

Maxwell’s work showed that electromagnetic waves and light waves were of the same kind. However, at a later date, Quantum mechanics proved that the situation is much more complex and contradictory, but at lower frequencies, the wave theory holds good.

It is interesting to note that the properties of different waves is determined by the 'number of oscillations per second' or Hertz (the technical term used in the study of vibration).

The difference squarely lies is in the frequency of the waves, the speed with which they pulsate or the frequency of vibration. Hence it is quite clear that the property (or quality) of the waves changes (an emergent property) when the frequency (or quantity) changes. This change of property implies a change of behavior too. That is to say, quantitative changes give rise to different kinds of signals that differ in quality.

Translated into colours, red light indicates light waves of low frequency. An increased frequency of vibration turns the colour to orange-yellow, then to violet, then to the invisible ultra-violet and X-rays and finally to gamma rays. If we reverse the process, at the lower end, we go from infrared and heat rays to radio-waves. Thus, the same phenomenon manifests itself differently, completely depending on the frequency of vibration (higher to lower frequency). And this is determined by the quanity of energy we add or substract.

Interesting to note that as we move up the frequency ladder the emergent behavior changes from 'fields' to 'waves' and then to 'particles'. This is an important insight, the significance of which we would understand in a moment.

Thus Quantity changes into Quality.

Refer the Electromagnetic Table below.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Frequency in Hertz	Name	Rough behavior
102	Electrical disturbance	Field
5 X 105-106	Radio Broadcast
108	FM-TV	Waves
1010	Radar
5 X 1014-1015	Light
1018	X-rays
1021	y-rays, nuclear	Particle
1024	y-rays, "artificial"
1027	y-rays, in cosmic rays

Source: R. P. Feynman, Lectures on Physics, chapter 2, p. 7, Table 2-1.

The Innovators' Field Day.

Application of this law to both engineering and mangement can make any innovator or problem solver very happy.

This is because, as innovators or problem solvers we may cleverly use this law to innovate.For example, the microwave oven is based on this principle. Or invention of infra-red ports, mouses and thermal imaging are based on this principle. Similarly, NASA effectively uses cosmic rays to cure and heal astronauts orbitting the space for months. Likewise we can also understand as to how the use of CFL (compact flurorescent lamp) can affect our health. Or for example, we also notice how low frequency electromagetic radiation affects our hearts and anti-friction bearings in machines alike (fields).

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Similarly, when we apply the principle in management systems we can also effectively use the concepts of fields, waves and particles all differeing in energy content, where all changes in management systems are composed of low frequency slow cycles -- fields -- the culture, ethics, vision and strategy of the company and faster cycles of change (medium to high frequencies) which are in the form of waves (general improvement initiatives for a short duration of time) and particles (focussed improvements). It is fair to admit that both low, medium and high frequency cycles co-exist, just as it does in Nature. 

It would not be therefore surprizing to see Design and Systems Thinkers use this prinicple to effectively bring about social changes in fields like health, education and sustainable living. 

And it would also not be difficult to envisage how designers might use this principle to design effective machines and systems (energy, transportations etc) to reduce global energy consumption and global warming.

And architects can also bring about dramatic changes by using the same prinicple of Quanity to Quality to bring about unique relationships between human beings and their dwellings and their energy consumption and their activities and of course their pets.

They are all important for the brave new world that lies before us begging our intelligent thinking and action.

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Quantity, Quality, Patterns, Fractals, Transforms

Changes in matter are always qualitative in nature. Such qualitative changes can be best understood by observing patterns like the way we find them in frequency spectrums, wear debris slides and infra red thermal images. Such patterns can also be noticed in organizations and societies.

The existence of qualitative changes in matter exhibited through patterns was known long before human beings began to think more deeply with the help of physical sciences. With the advent of atomic theory we started to appreciate this phenomenon more deeply. In the early days of science we took changes of state from solid to liquid to gas as something that occurred naturally, without exactly knowing why. It is only now that such phenomena are being properly understood.

Chemistry made great strides forward in the 19th century. A large number of elements was discovered. But, rather it looked like the confused situation which exists in particle physics today. Indeterminate Chaos reigned.

Order was established by the great Russian scientist Dimitri Ivanovich Mendeleyev who, in 1869, in collaboration with the German chemist Julius Meyer, worked out the periodic table of the elements, so-called because it showed the periodic recurrence of similar chemical properties.

Note the use of word 'periodic'. This is the building block of pattern making out of which we make sense of the world around us. It is the periodic repetition arranged in a certain manner that forms patterns across different levels. We now have a sophisticated word for that. It is called 'fractals'.  

The existence of atomic weight was discovered in 1862 by Cannizzaro. But Mendeleyev’s genius lay in the fact that he did not approach the elements from a purely quantitative standpoint, that is, he did not see the relation between the different atoms just in terms of weight. Had he done that by mistake, he would never have made the breakthrough he did. From the purely quantitative standpoint, for instance, the element tellurium (atomic weight = 127.61) ought to have come after iodine (atomic weight = 126.91) in the periodic table, yet Mendeleyev placed it before iodine, under selenium, to which it is more similar, and placed iodine under the related element, bromine. Mendeleyev’s method was vindicated in the 20th century, when through the investigation of X-rays his arrangement was proved correct. The new atomic number for tellurium was put at 52, while that of iodine was 53. The breakthrough idea was to look for patterns. 

The whole of Mendeleyev’s periodic table is based on the law of quantity and quality, deducing qualitative differences in the elements from quantitative differences in atomic weights.

This understanding helps us unravel some of nature's mysteries. These are:

a) Quantitative changes leads to qualitative changes

b) Even extremely small quantitative changes often brings about dramatic qualitative changes.

c) All qualitative changes can be understood by patterns.

d) Any qualitative changes that are always exhibited through patterns can't be measured. So, important qualitative transformations can't be understood through measurements of any kind. It can be understood 'wholistically' through patterns only.

e) Patterns or qualitative changes repeat themselves over and over again in a system. Such a phenomenon is called 'fractals'. This happens in a self organizing fashion and the pattern that emerges is the part of the emergent property of the system.

f) Fractals exist at different levels in a system. This indicates that reality of a phenomenon exists at different levels. This is what we call as 'parallel reality'.

g) So by closely studying one fractal we get to understand the nature of all other fractals. That is we start from a part and understand the whole. This allows us to see the part and the whole at the same time.

h) It follows, that change in the pattern at the highest level changes patterns at other levels automatically in a spontaneous manner.

i) However to make an effective change we look for the smallest change to be made with the least effort and time to bring about substantial and sustainable changes in the system.

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