Welcome to the deep dive. This is where we cut
through all the noise, pull out the really important
stuff from our sources, and, well, get you properly
informed fast. Today we're diving into something.
It's a concept that might genuinely shift how
you look at the world, especially technology.
And, you know, when we say technology, we're
thinking bigger than just... Right. Much broader.
Scholars think of it as basically any human -made
system or solution designed to do something.
Exactly. Could be a hammer, could be a global
supply chain, or, and this is key for today,
public schools. The big idea is this. Every technology
comprises other technologies. It's this concept
scholars call recursive. Yeah, recursive. And
it sounds a bit academic maybe, but it's really
just about how systems work on multiple levels.
You have components. They're connected, sure.
But you can also kind of look at them as distinct
modules. Like nesting dolls. Sort of like nesting
dolls, yeah. But imagine each doll actually affects
the others. And the whole set is part of an even
bigger set. It's interconnected. Okay, that helps.
So let's make it concrete. How does this recursive
thing actually show up? You mentioned schools.
Schools are a perfect example, yeah. Think about
the structure. You've got the physical building,
right? Made up of classrooms. Then you've got
management layers, departments, grade levels,
the whole... district. And even the curriculum
is broken down into units, then lessons. And
even a single lesson has parts, like teaching
methods, content, activities. It just keeps going
down. Exactly. It's nested all the way. That's
the recursive modular nature right there. So
our mission today for this deep dive is to unpack
three really fascinating observations about all
technologies that come straight from this recursive
idea. And I think as we get into this, you'll
start seeing connections, maybe surprising ones,
about why a change here causes a ripple effect
over there. It definitely made me look at things
differently. So by the end, you should feel,
well, much clearer on how these complex systems
actually work. Ready to jump in? Let's do it.
OK. Observation number one. And it's a biggie.
These modules, these bits that seem separate,
they're not really isolated because everything's
built from other stuff and is also part of something
bigger. Yeah. any tweak, even a tiny one in one
part, it's going to affect the others. Absolutely.
It's like you pull one thread in a sweater and
you expect that thread to move, but suddenly
a whole part of the pattern puckers or shifts
somewhere else entirely. Right. So how does that
play out in schools then, that interconnectedness?
Well, the source gives a really clear example.
Physical activity and brain function, they're
linked undeniably. So imagine a school decides
to, say, cut back on recess time. or maybe drop
a PE class to squeeze in more math prep. Happens
all the time. It does. But that decision isn't
just about less running around. Because of this
recursive nature, it inevitably affects academic
performance across the board. Not just in PE,
but in math, reading, everything. Everything.
You can't just wall it off. Physical activity
is a module, and it directly impacts the academic
learning module. They're interwoven. Wow. That
really challenges how we tend to compartmentalize
things doesn't it like Jim is over here and classroom
is over there It absolutely does which actually
leads us straight into the second observation.
Okay, which is Technologies exist at many different
levels So you have to understand them evaluate
them at those different levels because what you
observe at one scale Say group data might tell
you very little or even mislead you about what's
happening at another scale, like with an individual.
And sometimes you get things happening at one
level that you just couldn't predict from looking
at the parts, right? Exactly. Those are the emergent
properties, things that kind of bubble up from
the interactions. So thinking about data, how
does this affect how we should interpret things
like test scores? Oh, hugely. Standardized test
scores, for example. They can show you trends
for a whole school or a district. Useful maybe
for spotting broad curriculum issues or where
a whole grade is doing well. But that same group
score, it can be a pretty weak indicator of what
one specific student actually knows or can do.
Why is that? Well, maybe that student just had
a bad day, felt sick during the test. Their low
score pulls down the average slightly, but it
doesn't reflect their actual ability. The group
trend doesn't capture the individual's story.
Or vice versa, I suppose. An individual doing
great doesn't mean the whole group gets it. Precisely.
It's like, you know those huge flocks of starlings?
A murmuration. Yeah, incredible patterns. Incredible,
right. But no single bird is deciding, let's
make a giant swirling shape now. That pattern
emerges from all the individual birds following
simple rules, interacting with their neighbors.
The flock's behavior is an emergent property.
You can't predict it just by studying one bird
in isolation. That's a fantastic analogy. It
really hammers home that context and scale are
crucial. We make decisions based on one level,
maybe district -wide data, without really considering
the individual classroom or even the individual
student experience. We do it all the time. And
that leads us nicely into the third observation,
which feels really important. These systems,
these technologies, they aren't static. They're
always changing. Constantly, yep. Think about
it. We make new discoveries, new needs pop up.
So the technologies in one module, or maybe at
one level, they get updated. They get reinvented.
And because everything's connected. Those changes
ripple through. They affect all the connected
modules up and down the levels. The whole system
adapts. Yeah. Humans are always tinkering, aren't
we? Trying to make things more efficient or safer
or just meet some new demand. So technology is
inherently dynamic. Both see that in education
all the time, right? Curriculum changes. Oh,
constantly. New curriculum standards come out.
We learn more about how kids learn. Teachers
develop new skills or techniques. It all feeds
back in. Instruction methods adapt. It's this
continuous cycle of change and response. Keeps
things interesting anyway. It's never really
finished. OK, so let's pull this together. We've
covered some ground here. The core idea. Technology
is recursive. Everything's built from parts and
is also part of a bigger whole. Right. Nested
and interconnected. And from that, three key
takeaways for understanding pretty much any complex
system. First, modules aren't isolated. Change
recess. You impact academics. It's all linked.
Second, you got to look at multiple levels. Group
test scores don't tell the whole individual story.
Someone might just be sick that day. Emergent
properties matter. Scales key. And third, technology
is never static. It's always evolving. A curriculum
update ripples out, changing teaching and learning.
It's dynamic. Yeah, if you kind of internalize
that, this recursive, interconnected, dynamic
view, using schools as our main example today,
it really is crucial for navigating, well, pretty
much any complex system you encounter. In your
own life, you mean? Absolutely. Your job, how
your team works, a hobby you're involved in,
even just your family dynamics or daily routines.
If you start seeing the layers, the interdependencies,
you get better at anticipating consequences,
understanding why weird things happen, and just
generally tackling problems more effectively.
It gives you a better lens. It really does feel
like a more, I don't know, realistic way of seeing
things. OK, so for your final thought to chew
on today. Given that everything's interconnected
and always changing, think about a familiar system
in your own life. Could be work, could be a project,
maybe even just how you plan your week. Can you
try to see its recursive parts, break it down
mentally? And then think. How might understanding
that structure help you predict the ripples if
you made one small change? Where might those
unexpected effects pop up? Go look for the emergent
properties in your own world. See what you find.