Accidental Gods | Emerging from Complexity: how we become the change we need to see with Manda Scott

Emergence from Complex Systems is a thing.  And the thing about it is, that there are only two options when a system reaches maximal complexity: collapse to chaos and extinction OR emergence to a new phase.  We prefer the second option, so this is a look at complexity - and at the levers of change in any system.

Complexity is all around us - in fact if we're looking for a distinction between complicatED things as opposed to comPLEX things, then it's that people make things complicated (but linear, and readily described) while the whole of the rest of the web of life makes things that are complex... from a cell to an organ to a human (or animal, or plant) body, to an ecosystem, to our climate, to the entire planetary biosphere...
(which is why modern medicine doesn't get so far when it tries to treat us all as if we were basically clockwork and all they have to do is fix the flywheel...)

Anyway - if we're going to understand how we tick, if we're going to understand why the non-linear tipping points of complex systems trend towards infinity quite so fast (think methane hydrates boiling off in the arctic causing runaway global heating)  - and particularly if we're going to get to grips with why and how we might reach a stage where conscious evolution is the next emergent property of the hyper-complex system of human society... We need to understand the basics of complexity.
 
And when we've got our heads around this, it's useful to have a look at the Levers of Change by which any complex system may be nudged - because the non-linear nature of complex systems means that the ways we might, say, change the trajectory of a jetliner are not the same ways we might influence a complex system. So we look at that, too, with honour given to Donella Meadows for coming up with the twelve point list.

If you want to look more at her work, it's here
If you want to look at the twelve points specifically, try here

What is Accidental Gods ?

Another World is still Possible. The old system was never fit for purpose and now it has gone- and it's never coming back.

We have the power of gods to destroy our home. But we also have the chance to become something we cannot yet imagine,
and by doing so, lay the foundations for a future we would be proud to leave to the generations yet unborn.

What happens if we commit to a world based on generative values: compassion, courage, integrity?

What happens if we let go of the race for meaningless money and commit instead to the things that matter: clean air, clean water, clean soil - and clean, clear, courageous connections between all parts of ourselves (so we have to do the inner work of healing individually and collectively), between ourselves and each other (so we have to do the outer work of relearning how to build generative communities) and between ourselves and the Web of Life (so we have to reclaim our birthright as conscious nodes in the web of life)?

We can do this - and every week on Accidental Gods we speak with the people who are living this world into being. We have all the answers, we just (so far) lack the visions and collective will to weave them into a future that works. We can make this happen. We will. Join us.

Accidental Gods is a podcast and membership program devoted to exploring the ways we can create a future that we would be proud to leave to the generations yet to come.

If we're going to emerge into a just, equitable - and above all regenerative - future, we need to get to know the people who are already living, working, thinking and believing at the leading edge of inter-becoming transformation.
Accidental Gods exists to bring these voices to the world so that we can work together to lay the foundations of a world we'd be proud to leave to the generations that come after us.
We have the choice now - we can choose to transform…or we can face the chaos of a failing system.
Our Choice. Our Chance. Our Future.

Find the membership and the podcast pages here: https://accidentalgods.life
Find Manda's Thrutopian novel, Any Human Power here: https://mandascott.co.uk
Find Manda on BlueSky @mandascott.bsky.social
On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandascottauthor/
On FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/MandaScottAuthor