Rhythm
= "Repetitions in Time, the temporal aspects of systems: ‘Rhythm’ represents the waves and cycles of a system." Pattern Dynamics
Description
Tim Winton:
"All natural systems have regular repetitions and cycles that order events over time. The most important ecological cycle is the annual changing of the seasons caused by the tilt in the earth’s axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the sun. The moon causes ocean tides to ebb and flow with a complex monthly rhythm which is in turn overlaid with the pulse of waves caused by the wind. Both the seasons and the tides then coordinate biological activities, fertility cycles, resource pulses and a host of other natural rhythms. What role do rhythms play within a system? Think about how having holidays at irregular and random times from year to year would affect the organisation of your workplace. What would happen if there was never any variation to the routine? Does your household function better when your family’s weekly routine is regular and uninterrupted? How could you balance an existing Rhythm or integrate a new one into a system in your life to improve how it is organised? How do rhythms serve to coordinate systems?
The Rhythm Pattern represents the repetitions, swings, pulses and synchronizations that align the elements and activities of a system through time. Rhythms provide a regularity that allows elements of a system to coordinate with each other. Rhythms must possess a reliable regularity, but they must also change and adapt to evolving circumstances. The role of Rhythm is to coordinate events in time."
(Pattern Dynamics, Tim Winton)
Examples
Tim Winton:
"Economy: All scales of economies throughout history have displayed extremities and irregularities in their levels of activity which has posed challenges for the sustainability of those economies. This is referred to as a ‘boom and bust’ dynamic. Governments and financial institutions regularly intervene to try to moderate extreme swings in financial activities and to introduce more reliability into the rhythms of financial markets."
(Pattern Dynamics, Tim Winton)