Later (in Sub-Chapters 4.2.5 and 4.2.6) I will propose further applications or uses of chaos in some detail – and link it to systems theory (that I described in a previous Section) but prior to that I will briefly explore critical mass.
This term was originally coined by physicists experimenting with nuclear fission to describe the point at which a nuclear device will be self-sustaining, there being no way of stopping it after that point.
In addition to its relevance in the world of nuclear fission, you might have heard of critical mass as it applies in a phenomenon popularly known as the butterfly effect. That is, the flap of a butterfly’s wings in one part of the world setting off a tornado in another part. (A butterfly’s flapping wing represents a small, virtually imperceptible change in an initial condition of a climatic system, which causes a chain of climatic events leading to a tornado). Had the butterfly not flapped its wings the tornado might not have occurred!
More importantly, at some point along the course of events, the process reaches critical mass that is, a tipping point [1] after which there can be no reverting to the original state.
So let us consider critical mass when applied to human behaviour.
There is a saying among stand-up comedians that if a third of an audience laughs all will laugh.
We are all familiar with the phenomenon of the buzz, that is, we know something is happening and we want to be associated with it.
And why does a team usually play better at home? And related to that, consider a big crowd in a stadium, how each individual’s identity becomes blurred as everyone behaves as one.
Another example would be a country at war. Enthusiasm to embark on a campaign to kill others and/or be killed reaches critical mass so that if one is seen to be against the prevailing feeling then one becomes separate from the tribe. On the other hand, I have referenced, in a previous post, people power that reached critical mass in USA in the 1960’s-70’s that was very influential in putting an end to the Vietnam War.
This, of course, also shows the power of relationship – one of our root foundations – in us. That is, our need, or even our necessity to belong.
[1]. In terms of human violence the most destructive tipping point in human history could be thought to be the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Serbia in Sarajevo in 1914, which resulted in the start of the First World War, the perceived unjust consequences of which (many would argue) led to the rise of Nazism and thereafter the Second World War. Between 1914 and 1945 it is estimated that over 70 million people died because of the rivalries, power struggles and expansionist ambitions of the Great Powers (including the USA) that had been going on for a hundred years that had reached critical mass prior to the assassination of the Archduke. This I covered in more detail in the Chapter on Power and Control in Society.