A Reflection on Community Convection
In this video, a small pot contains some food, water, and spices.
As the heat on the stove reaches the bottom of the pot, the pot gets hotter. The food and liquid in the pot feel the heat, and begin to get agitated. The heat-energized molecules jump around, seemingly at random.
But within the boundaries of their environment- the pot and the air above - natural patterns spontaneously organize.
If the pot was clear, we would see the circular flow all around the pot, as the hotter contents rise away from the heat of the bottom, reach the surface where they are cooled a bit by the air above, get heavier, and sink down towards the bottom again.
But even as the cycles of convection continue, some parts of the food are able stay up on top, light enough to float on the bubbling, boiling surface.
The bits of colored spices cluster together in the center of the simmering surface. They are comparatively stable at the center but turbulent at their outer edges. New bits are being pushed up from below, and some bits are pushed away at the surface edges.
As the heat on the stove reaches the bottom of the pot, the pot gets hotter. The food and liquid in the pot feel the heat, and begin to get agitated. The heat-energized molecules jump around, seemingly at random.
But within the boundaries of their environment- the pot and the air above - natural patterns spontaneously organize.
If the pot was clear, we would see the circular flow all around the pot, as the hotter contents rise away from the heat of the bottom, reach the surface where they are cooled a bit by the air above, get heavier, and sink down towards the bottom again.
But even as the cycles of convection continue, some parts of the food are able stay up on top, light enough to float on the bubbling, boiling surface.
The bits of colored spices cluster together in the center of the simmering surface. They are comparatively stable at the center but turbulent at their outer edges. New bits are being pushed up from below, and some bits are pushed away at the surface edges.
This is a simple physical system with what are complex emergent dynamics.
Now, instead of seeing this as food in a simmering pot, imagine this as the ecosystem of your organization or community
- Who is with us "in the pot?"
- What boundaries and limits do we face every day?
- What pressures do we face, that push us in different directions?
- When we reach the top, how hard is it to stay there
- What supports us, and what lets us down?
~ Bruce Waltuck, President, Freethinc...For A Change & Director, I-Open
Add your financial support to I-Open, an educational initiative developing and deploying new practices and tools in Open Source Economic Development. Every dollar is gratefully received.
