Starting a new Category here at DGC: Seed Crystals.
A seed crystal can get a chemical process going. Especially in a super saturated environment. It is the catalyst that starts a larger process going. Like a spark to start a fire. Here is how Robert Persig describes it in Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
“A super saturated solution is one in which the saturation point, at which no more material will divide dissolve, has been exceeded. This can occur because the saturation point becomes higher as the temperature of the solution is increased. When you dissolve the material at a high temperature and then cool the solution, the material sometimes doesn’t crystallize out because the molecules don’t know how. They require something to get them started, a seed crystal, or a grain of dust or even a sudden scratch or tap on the surrounding glass.”
In today’s super saturated information environment, we need seed crystals. Tiny sparks to create new structures of understanding. I have found I don’t need more information, more media, more unrelated data, I need seed crystals to start the consolidation process that can make it all make sense. This new category will contain the items and examples of seed crystals that I have found useful. These are a reminder to myself to go back to the seeds, the first principal thinking when stuck. And yes I am often stuck. Usually because of supersaturation, not information deficiency.
