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Predictable patterns form our paths


Predictable patterns form our paths

Perhaps the reason why we like patterns is because they are so predictable. We recognise the sequence in the pattern and know what to expect next. That is kind of comforting in a way. No nasty surprises. But then when we do discover a deviance in the pattern, we are happy to find it because it makes us feel smart.Look, there! See? The pattern has been broken.


This would be true if we were examining a kilim rug, for instance. The weavers tweak the pattern here and there as their unique signature – a show of pride in their handiwork. And we would be happy to recognise the tweak.

According to UNICEF – the United Nations Children’s Fund –
one of the ways of testing basic numeracy is to check for an understanding of pattern recognition: Children need to know what follows on 2,4 and 6.Being able to make and follow patterns with understanding later leads to problem-solving skills and out-of-the-box thinking – a crucial skill for any generation, especially one facing the future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Are we geared to shape our future?

The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future, wrote Eric Hoffer in his book The Passionate State of Mind (1954).

We would like our future to have an orderly pattern, predictably peaceful and safe. But: you want a warm fuzzy feeling? Not going to happen. Well-being is not where the global community is heading. Is there an out-of-order spiralling pattern? Probably. Humanity is on path to self-destruction, warned UN special rapporteur Nils Melzer in 2018. The Bible also agrees.

There is surely no aspect of life without some sort of pattern. Poetry has rhyming and alliteration, music has rhythm, Math has number patterns. Even eating has countless dirty dishes day after day! Growing older, for many people, means returning to infant patterns: wet underwear, speaking gibberish, ending up in bed with a nappy.

Life, then, is a series of patterns, whether positive or negative. The film Groundhog Day spelt out the necessity of learning from past mistakes and breaking a negative pattern. Buddhists believe in reincarnation where consciousness is continually reborn until certain lessons are learnt.

Buddhist or not, we should all be on the lookout for our negative patterns. When harmful thoughts or actions repeat in our lives too many times to be a coincidence, warning lights should be flickering. The pattern will keep repeating until we learn the life lesson associated with it.


Meanwhile we can appreciate the joy-producing patterns that life offers us – such as those bathroom tiles we’ve been ogling for months, or the retro artwork resembling the pop art age or simply the stretch and fold of a young girl’s hair, braided to perfection.

Christine Stoman

Okamita

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