A network is the combination of various elements or values to create a collective, larger value.
One of the most frequent universals of human perception comes through our inherent beliefs and presumptions of a network’s existence.
However, we don’t immediately recognize this network belief. Networks typically only arise within standard dialogue when they’re used for diagnosis of a problem or when they’re explicitly named.
Networks consist of severtal base components:
- Nodes, which always represent as nouns.
- Connections, which can represent as absolutely anything.
The connections represent relationships with everything else, but are highly dependent on the precise specification of what constitutes a given node. If a node possesses qualities of its surroundings, for example, the network within the mind will fail to manage those expectations.
It’s worth noting that each network node is not a static existence, and becomes another network with closer inspection. An organization within society, for example, is also another network. This repeats itself downward indefinitely.
Another noteworthy reality is that networks are merely representations of understanding, which means that two similar networks are not mutually exclusive. An example would be how the body’s circulatory system and respiratory system both use some similar nodes. The differences come through the interpreted purpose of the network.
Beyond anything within our perceived world, we develop creative ideas by filling in and changing networks, which arise through a few major pathways:
- Finding connections that hadn’t been observed before (e.g., how two different objects are relatively alike).
- Finding new nodes that were not previously observed (e.g., detecting a new way to see things).
- Severing connections that had been presumed (e.g., scientific discoveries that discover a lack of correlation).
- Constructing new networks toward new purposes with existing nodes (e.g., using a common technology for an uncommon use).
The fascinating reality of these networks, though, is that we feel them through intuition more than we can articulately understand or communicate them. We can specialize into either using them for our purposes (and not knowing how to communicate the scope of the network) or learn to teach them (and therefore not be as useful working with that network).
Application
Many conflicts arise through failing to recognize the presence of networks and how much they’re subject to change:
- Each person’s understanding is a separate network.
- Every single existing object contains more networks within it than we are presently aware of.
- Every single object is part of more networks than we are presently aware of.
- Networks are constantly adapting without our awareness.
The domain of image distortion involves either making stories that remove key nodes, or simply fabricating nodes that don’t truly exist in reality.
One of our primary sources of anxiety comes through how we fail to reliably remove connections where we don’t feel the imagined possibilities of those presumed connections.
A major risk for all teachers is that they will invariably teach their subject enough that they’re not as effective as actually doing anything with what they have. The only solution is for them to teach less and do more, but then they wouldn’t be specialized enough for anything.