Wave Dynamics

Have you ever simply watched how a pebble tossed into a pond caused ripples to flow in every direction? There's a whole school of physics dedicated to what happens in the phenomenon. What fascinates me is how the same phenomenon seems to occur in other areas of life.

When you watch a wave travel across a pond you may notice that the water in a particular spot doesn't actually get pushed away. The molecules of water simply go up and down in a circular motion as the energy of the wave passes through them. This happens in all kinds of waves, like radio waves for example. A kind of energy passes through the medium in the form of a wave. Additional waves can strengthen them or cause interference with them and cancel them out.

It has been my observation that something similar happens among human populations. Take ideas for example. An idea is a kind of energy introduced into the population. A powerful idea passes through human beings like a wave passes through a physical medium. It can gain strength over generations. When other ideas interact with it, it can be strengthened, weakened or even be canceled out.

I  have always found it curious that religions and philosophies usually begin humbly enough. It takes time for them to grow and affect more people. They move through generations while growing and changing. They always come into contact with other ideas that strengthen, weaken or, sometimes, cancel them out. They just seem to take on a life of their own...a life that transcends the individuals that are affected by them. The philosophies and religions that last grow to a tipping point wherein they are established in a population. Those that don't reach a tipping point because not enough people adhere to them seem to change or die out. Sometimes, when they interact with other ideas / philosophies / religions, they morph into something unexpected. These are all things that waves in nature go through.

Another phenomenon that occurs in nature is the crystallization  process. Crystallization is simply the way atoms and molecules organize themselves according to their shapes. If one were to put salt or sugar into a glass of water in large amounts then stir the water enough so the grains dissolve and leave it undisturbed crystals of the dissolved substance will begin to form. One can remove a crystal and stir the water again so the small crystals are again dissolved. Suspending the seed crystal back in the water and leaving it undisturbed again causes the media to coalesce around it. The seed crystal will begin to grow much larger than those that normally form. 

Something similar happens in populations. An idea can saturate a population to the point where something begins to grow from it. One person can come along who gives voice to the idea and a movement can coalesce or crystallize around them. In a way similar to a seed crystal becoming dominant, a leader who gives voice to an idea can grow and become dominant. Every generation seems to produce it's own voices.

I've heard it argued that one could have avoided World War II if someone had simply killed Hitler before he became so powerful. I'm not sure that's true. It seems to me that Hitler gave a voice to the feelings of his time and the population coalesced around him. If Hitler had been killed I suspect another would have risen and taken his place because the population was ready for someone to come. The same could be argued for many figures in history.

Ideas are introduced into a population, they grow until a tipping point is reached and they become established in the population then someone rises to give a voice to the idea and the population crystallizes around that leader. There are many, many examples of this in history.

Now...all of this may mean absolutely nothing. These could just be my fanciful observations looking for similar phenomenon. But...wouldn't it be fascinating if someone were to discover the mathematics that govern such phenomenon and become able to predict such movements?!

Just some idle thoughts From the Blacksmiths Corner....