WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome to the deep dive. This is where we cut 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:05.599 through all the noise, pull out the really important 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.859 stuff from our sources, and, well, get you properly 00:00:08.859 --> 00:00:12.099 informed fast. Today we're diving into something. 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:15.320 It's a concept that might genuinely shift how 00:00:15.320 --> 00:00:18.079 you look at the world, especially technology. 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:20.320 And, you know, when we say technology, we're 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:23.350 thinking bigger than just... Right. Much broader. 00:00:23.449 --> 00:00:26.050 Scholars think of it as basically any human -made 00:00:26.050 --> 00:00:28.429 system or solution designed to do something. 00:00:29.109 --> 00:00:31.449 Exactly. Could be a hammer, could be a global 00:00:31.449 --> 00:00:34.350 supply chain, or, and this is key for today, 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:39.170 public schools. The big idea is this. Every technology 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:42.130 comprises other technologies. It's this concept 00:00:42.130 --> 00:00:44.990 scholars call recursive. Yeah, recursive. And 00:00:44.990 --> 00:00:47.369 it sounds a bit academic maybe, but it's really 00:00:47.369 --> 00:00:49.509 just about how systems work on multiple levels. 00:00:49.670 --> 00:00:51.429 You have components. They're connected, sure. 00:00:51.750 --> 00:00:53.530 But you can also kind of look at them as distinct 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:55.350 modules. Like nesting dolls. Sort of like nesting 00:00:55.350 --> 00:00:57.829 dolls, yeah. But imagine each doll actually affects 00:00:57.829 --> 00:00:59.750 the others. And the whole set is part of an even 00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:02.219 bigger set. It's interconnected. Okay, that helps. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.439 So let's make it concrete. How does this recursive 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:08.359 thing actually show up? You mentioned schools. 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:10.540 Schools are a perfect example, yeah. Think about 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:12.719 the structure. You've got the physical building, 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:16.019 right? Made up of classrooms. Then you've got 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:18.200 management layers, departments, grade levels, 00:01:18.620 --> 00:01:21.299 the whole... district. And even the curriculum 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:24.400 is broken down into units, then lessons. And 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.400 even a single lesson has parts, like teaching 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:29.939 methods, content, activities. It just keeps going 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:32.400 down. Exactly. It's nested all the way. That's 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.260 the recursive modular nature right there. So 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:38.939 our mission today for this deep dive is to unpack 00:01:38.939 --> 00:01:42.780 three really fascinating observations about all 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.200 technologies that come straight from this recursive 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:48.409 idea. And I think as we get into this, you'll 00:01:48.409 --> 00:01:50.790 start seeing connections, maybe surprising ones, 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:53.629 about why a change here causes a ripple effect 00:01:53.629 --> 00:01:55.609 over there. It definitely made me look at things 00:01:55.609 --> 00:01:57.530 differently. So by the end, you should feel, 00:01:57.530 --> 00:02:00.209 well, much clearer on how these complex systems 00:02:00.209 --> 00:02:02.750 actually work. Ready to jump in? Let's do it. 00:02:03.010 --> 00:02:06.349 OK. Observation number one. And it's a biggie. 00:02:06.750 --> 00:02:09.449 These modules, these bits that seem separate, 00:02:09.550 --> 00:02:12.150 they're not really isolated because everything's 00:02:12.150 --> 00:02:14.949 built from other stuff and is also part of something 00:02:14.949 --> 00:02:18.860 bigger. Yeah. any tweak, even a tiny one in one 00:02:18.860 --> 00:02:21.340 part, it's going to affect the others. Absolutely. 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:24.539 It's like you pull one thread in a sweater and 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:26.919 you expect that thread to move, but suddenly 00:02:26.919 --> 00:02:29.219 a whole part of the pattern puckers or shifts 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:31.500 somewhere else entirely. Right. So how does that 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:34.060 play out in schools then, that interconnectedness? 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.060 Well, the source gives a really clear example. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.120 Physical activity and brain function, they're 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.840 linked undeniably. So imagine a school decides 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.669 to, say, cut back on recess time. or maybe drop 00:02:45.669 --> 00:02:48.669 a PE class to squeeze in more math prep. Happens 00:02:48.669 --> 00:02:51.530 all the time. It does. But that decision isn't 00:02:51.530 --> 00:02:54.389 just about less running around. Because of this 00:02:54.389 --> 00:02:57.210 recursive nature, it inevitably affects academic 00:02:57.210 --> 00:02:59.449 performance across the board. Not just in PE, 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:02.550 but in math, reading, everything. Everything. 00:03:02.610 --> 00:03:05.009 You can't just wall it off. Physical activity 00:03:05.009 --> 00:03:07.490 is a module, and it directly impacts the academic 00:03:07.490 --> 00:03:11.360 learning module. They're interwoven. Wow. That 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.719 really challenges how we tend to compartmentalize 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.979 things doesn't it like Jim is over here and classroom 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:20.139 is over there It absolutely does which actually 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:22.400 leads us straight into the second observation. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.039 Okay, which is Technologies exist at many different 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.659 levels So you have to understand them evaluate 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:31.840 them at those different levels because what you 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:36.240 observe at one scale Say group data might tell 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.300 you very little or even mislead you about what's 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:41.340 happening at another scale, like with an individual. 00:03:41.500 --> 00:03:43.099 And sometimes you get things happening at one 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:44.699 level that you just couldn't predict from looking 00:03:44.699 --> 00:03:46.900 at the parts, right? Exactly. Those are the emergent 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:48.680 properties, things that kind of bubble up from 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:52.060 the interactions. So thinking about data, how 00:03:52.060 --> 00:03:54.819 does this affect how we should interpret things 00:03:54.819 --> 00:03:58.240 like test scores? Oh, hugely. Standardized test 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.280 scores, for example. They can show you trends 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.319 for a whole school or a district. Useful maybe 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:05.340 for spotting broad curriculum issues or where 00:04:05.340 --> 00:04:07.520 a whole grade is doing well. But that same group 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:09.979 score, it can be a pretty weak indicator of what 00:04:09.979 --> 00:04:12.479 one specific student actually knows or can do. 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.340 Why is that? Well, maybe that student just had 00:04:14.340 --> 00:04:17.860 a bad day, felt sick during the test. Their low 00:04:17.860 --> 00:04:20.620 score pulls down the average slightly, but it 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:23.420 doesn't reflect their actual ability. The group 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:25.639 trend doesn't capture the individual's story. 00:04:25.779 --> 00:04:27.959 Or vice versa, I suppose. An individual doing 00:04:27.959 --> 00:04:30.279 great doesn't mean the whole group gets it. Precisely. 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:32.699 It's like, you know those huge flocks of starlings? 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:35.620 A murmuration. Yeah, incredible patterns. Incredible, 00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:37.980 right. But no single bird is deciding, let's 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:41.339 make a giant swirling shape now. That pattern 00:04:41.339 --> 00:04:43.560 emerges from all the individual birds following 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:45.899 simple rules, interacting with their neighbors. 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:48.579 The flock's behavior is an emergent property. 00:04:48.939 --> 00:04:51.139 You can't predict it just by studying one bird 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:53.579 in isolation. That's a fantastic analogy. It 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.360 really hammers home that context and scale are 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:59.220 crucial. We make decisions based on one level, 00:04:59.579 --> 00:05:02.740 maybe district -wide data, without really considering 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:05.120 the individual classroom or even the individual 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.980 student experience. We do it all the time. And 00:05:07.980 --> 00:05:10.040 that leads us nicely into the third observation, 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:12.360 which feels really important. These systems, 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:14.459 these technologies, they aren't static. They're 00:05:14.459 --> 00:05:17.639 always changing. Constantly, yep. Think about 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.019 it. We make new discoveries, new needs pop up. 00:05:20.259 --> 00:05:22.839 So the technologies in one module, or maybe at 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:25.240 one level, they get updated. They get reinvented. 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:27.459 And because everything's connected. Those changes 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:30.000 ripple through. They affect all the connected 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.579 modules up and down the levels. The whole system 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:36.139 adapts. Yeah. Humans are always tinkering, aren't 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:38.560 we? Trying to make things more efficient or safer 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:41.459 or just meet some new demand. So technology is 00:05:41.459 --> 00:05:43.379 inherently dynamic. Both see that in education 00:05:43.379 --> 00:05:46.019 all the time, right? Curriculum changes. Oh, 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:48.439 constantly. New curriculum standards come out. 00:05:48.500 --> 00:05:51.000 We learn more about how kids learn. Teachers 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:54.199 develop new skills or techniques. It all feeds 00:05:54.199 --> 00:05:56.959 back in. Instruction methods adapt. It's this 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.980 continuous cycle of change and response. Keeps 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:01.990 things interesting anyway. It's never really 00:06:01.990 --> 00:06:03.870 finished. OK, so let's pull this together. We've 00:06:03.870 --> 00:06:07.490 covered some ground here. The core idea. Technology 00:06:07.490 --> 00:06:10.470 is recursive. Everything's built from parts and 00:06:10.470 --> 00:06:13.129 is also part of a bigger whole. Right. Nested 00:06:13.129 --> 00:06:15.990 and interconnected. And from that, three key 00:06:15.990 --> 00:06:18.129 takeaways for understanding pretty much any complex 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:21.629 system. First, modules aren't isolated. Change 00:06:21.629 --> 00:06:24.089 recess. You impact academics. It's all linked. 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:27.870 Second, you got to look at multiple levels. Group 00:06:27.870 --> 00:06:30.069 test scores don't tell the whole individual story. 00:06:30.250 --> 00:06:32.230 Someone might just be sick that day. Emergent 00:06:32.230 --> 00:06:35.490 properties matter. Scales key. And third, technology 00:06:35.490 --> 00:06:38.029 is never static. It's always evolving. A curriculum 00:06:38.029 --> 00:06:40.509 update ripples out, changing teaching and learning. 00:06:40.670 --> 00:06:43.189 It's dynamic. Yeah, if you kind of internalize 00:06:43.189 --> 00:06:46.990 that, this recursive, interconnected, dynamic 00:06:46.990 --> 00:06:49.790 view, using schools as our main example today, 00:06:50.509 --> 00:06:52.930 it really is crucial for navigating, well, pretty 00:06:52.930 --> 00:06:54.889 much any complex system you encounter. In your 00:06:54.889 --> 00:06:57.629 own life, you mean? Absolutely. Your job, how 00:06:57.629 --> 00:06:59.910 your team works, a hobby you're involved in, 00:06:59.990 --> 00:07:02.350 even just your family dynamics or daily routines. 00:07:02.529 --> 00:07:04.930 If you start seeing the layers, the interdependencies, 00:07:04.990 --> 00:07:07.750 you get better at anticipating consequences, 00:07:08.329 --> 00:07:10.750 understanding why weird things happen, and just 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:13.029 generally tackling problems more effectively. 00:07:13.209 --> 00:07:15.529 It gives you a better lens. It really does feel 00:07:15.529 --> 00:07:18.050 like a more, I don't know, realistic way of seeing 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:21.449 things. OK, so for your final thought to chew 00:07:21.449 --> 00:07:24.560 on today. Given that everything's interconnected 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:26.899 and always changing, think about a familiar system 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:29.160 in your own life. Could be work, could be a project, 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.720 maybe even just how you plan your week. Can you 00:07:31.720 --> 00:07:33.560 try to see its recursive parts, break it down 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.800 mentally? And then think. How might understanding 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:38.759 that structure help you predict the ripples if 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:40.939 you made one small change? Where might those 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:43.720 unexpected effects pop up? Go look for the emergent 00:07:43.720 --> 00:07:45.959 properties in your own world. See what you find.