By Scott D. Peckham
What does the word ‘pattern’ mean to you? And how do you use patterns in addressing complex problems?
Patterns are repetitions. These can be in space, such as patterns in textiles and wallpaper, which include houndstooth, herringbone, paisley, plaid, argyle, checkered, striped and polka-dotted.
The pattern concept can also be applied to repetitions in time, as occur in music. Those who know the temporal patterns can classify a piece of music as a blues, waltz or salsa. For each of these types of music, there are also classic dance steps, that usually go by the same name; these are patterns of movement in space and time.
These examples get to the idea that patterns can be viewed more generally as any type of repetitive structure or recurring theme that we can look for and potentially recognize or discover and then assign a memorable name to, such as “houndstooth” or “waltz”. Recognizing the pattern may then indicate a particular course of action, such as “perform dance moves that go with a waltz”.
The ability to recognize a pattern and then take appropriate action is something that we associate with intelligence.