We need parts to function and relate as a whole. When we focus only on function, we fragment the relationships. So we make it work by strengthening the relationships between the parts so they connect better as a whole.
The whole is not the sum
of its parts. It's the
relationship
between them.
Insight comes from the relationship of the whole, not from a reduction to the parts.
The ability to anticipate comes from reading the relationships between the parts of the whole, not from knowing how individual parts function.
The core of a functional approach is computation—evaluating the functions of all parts.
-
Key traits:
-
Uses immutability (functions can’t change once created).
-
Relies on pure functions (same input always gives the same output).
-
Emphasizes pathways. It tries to tie down what changes and what is disputable. It tries to make everything predictable.
-
It is a matter of time before functional programming fails to make things predictable.
-
Emergence: When parts combine, they create new functions that do not exist in the individual parts.
-
Nonlinearity: Small changes in the beginning can lead to massive, completely unexpected results later. This is called the butterfly effect.
-
Complex Interactions: As the number of connections between parts grows, the total system becomes too difficult to calculate fully.
-
Information Limits: We never have exact data on every single starting condition or outside force.
Examples
-
Water Molecules: Knowing how a single H₂O molecule acts does not let you predict the exact shape of a splashing wave or ice crystals without seeing the whole system.
-
The Brain: You can study a single neuron, but you cannot predict a specific human thought or memory just from that piece.
-
Weather: We understand air and heat, but tracking every wind current to predict rain weeks away is impossible.
Play less functional - more relational
Date and time is TBD
|Location is TBD
We believe competitive basketball in the UK is too functional, so we offer a more relational approach to playing and watching the beautiful game.
Time & Location
Date and time is TBD
Location is TBD
About the event
Three factors make it hard to strengthen relationships between the parts so they connect better as a whole.
Cognitive offloading: We rely on technology to organise our lives, which directs our attention toward individual parts.
Reductionism: Breaking a big problem into tiny pieces can feel like an easier, safer way to please others. We follow assigned roles and repeat familiar habits. We do what others do because, if we are wrong, at least we are wrong together. But when we reduce each other to individual parts, we can’t give one another access to the relational whole. We all end up living empty reductionist lives. Leaders need to protect the whole from those who would reduce it to its parts.
Generational gap: The generation shaped by the world war developed the relational skills to rebuild function. Later generations used technology to extend those inherited skills, reducing the world into increasingly smaller…
SkillsofWow.org is the governing body for those who coach the skills of Wow.