Layers

Reality is processes and fields that collapse into “things.” We can draw a (fairly arbitrary) line around a group of processes or fields and call it a system. We can draw (fairly arbitrary) lines in a system to create layers. The layers exist on a spectrum.

• Each layer influences, and is influenced by, its neighbours. The layers are distinct, but not divided. They’re interconnected and interdependent.
• Each layer offers a change in context, scale, and/or extent. Each layer is worth reviewing on its own.
• The zoomed-out layers are bigger; they move and change more slowly. All the layers are in constant motion.
• The faster layers get our attention, but the slower layers have the power. Slow and big controls fast and small by constraint and constancy. Fast and small instructs slow and big by accrued innovation and occasional revolution. The faster layers learn, the slower layers remember.
• The layer boundaries are fuzzy. The boundaries are like tidemarks.

References

• Pace Layering: How Complex Systems Learn and Keep Learning
• Think in strata — defaults / actions / projects & new habits / quests / cadence
• The Matter With Things
• Shearing Layers
• The Iceberg Model in Systems Thinking

Added 2023-01-30, last updated 2024-12-27.