A trail of web links led me to the work of Stuart Kauffman, a biologist with a thoughtful focus on self-organization and the science of complexity. In his book, At Home in the Universe, he applies those concepts to all sorts of organic systems — from the origins of life to human social networks to civilizations.
One thought experiment on the nature of networks struck me as particularly relevant to the arts leader:
Imagine 10,000 buttons scattered on a hardwood floor. Randomly choose two buttons and connect them with a thread. Now put this pair down and randomly choose two more buttons, pick them up, and connect them with a thread. As you continue to do this, at first you will almost certainly pick up buttons that you have not picked up before. After a while, however, you are more likely to pick at random a pair of buttons and find that you have already chosen one of the pair. So when you tie a thread between the two newly chosen buttons, you will find three buttons tied together.
The magic arrives as you get to half as many threads as buttons. All of a sudden, most of the clusters become cross-connected into one giant structure. The sea of disconnected buttons transforms into a tightly connected system, where you can’t lift one button without moving a thousand.
It’s a fabulous metaphor for the slow and seemingly random connections we make as artists, arts managers, and arts organizations. If we keep to the business of making those connections, we can eventually (and rather suddenly) change the shape and nature of the world.
Thanks to The Sophist for the connection.
