Medical risks

Patterns

We spot patterns in data; we think they have significance. They may seem noteworthy, but many patterns have no significance whatsoever.

5 4 0 2 5 6 5 4 5 4 1 6 7 1 4 3 1 4 1 7 8 7 6 4 8 7 7 9 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 4 5 7 7 0 7 0 7 5 4 0 9 0 3 1 2 5 5 5 0 9 0 9 2 2 1 7 5 4 5 8 4 8 6 4 3 2.

Can you spot anything that stands out in this string of numbers? I put sections in that stand out. I put them in, on purpose to demonstrate a point. You can find patterns in strings of numbers, even ones that were spewed out by a random number generator. The curiosity machine in your head looks for patterns. It prefers neatness. Untidiness can be bothersome. We spot the unusual. We spot something amiss. One black grain of sand dents a creamy beige beach. Curiosity spots it. Curiosity is a hole in our knowledge. It interrupts the flow. A lack of neatness interrupts the visual flow. We get an urge to rectify it. A lack of knowledge or a lack of neatness distracts us.

This obsession with making things neat extends to neat gardens, neat piles, and tidiness in general. The attraction to neatness. Most of us suffer from it. Helpful to some degree but a catalyst for strife. You want it neat; I like it a little unrestrained. Some will throw all their cutlery in a box and fish out what they want, when they need it. Others prefer a draw with separate compartments for the knives, forks, spoons, and other cooking utensils. It makes it easier to see what you have, and it makes it easier to locate things quickly. I tell you; philosophy is about the everyday. Those making it seem more than that are leading you astray.

Neatness can have a practical purpose. There is a logical reason for neatness, however, if we look at the natural world our obsession with neatness is grim. We will not accept that nature knows best. We plant trees in rows, often the same variety with no diversity. We remove plants that aid the soil. We trim to make things suit our cosmetic petulance. Were we to set the lens such that we view the natural world from a distance, we could see the beauty. Or zoom in and view the microscopic elegance. Things in the natural world thrive best when left alone from human ordering.