Permaculture Designers Manual

 

CHAPTER 4 – PATTERN UNDERSTANDING

IN PERMACULTURE

Section 4.18 –

Classification of Events in Permaculture

All events are susceptible to classification over a variety of characteristics, and as, for example, clouds and galaxies have their pattern-names, so do many other phenomena.

Some basic ways to classify events in a unified system are:

A. NATURE.

A1.   Explosive; disintegration, erosion, impact, percussion

A2.   Growth; integration, construction, translation

A3.   Conceptual; idea, creative thought, Insight

B. STAGE.

B1.   Potential; only (un-germinated seed, unexplored idea, unexploded bomb)

B2.   In process; of evolution

B3.   Completed ; (growth and expansion ceased), articulated

B4.   Decaying; (disintegrative, replaced or invaded by new events) disarticulated

C. DIMENSION.

C1. One; (linear phenomena), curves

C2. Two; (surface phenomena), tessellae, dendrites

C3. Three; (solid phenomena), trees

C4. Four; (moving solid phenomena), includes the time dimension

C5. Five; (conceptual phenomena) models of particles or forces, states of energy

D. LOCATION

D1. Generating; across equi-potential surfaces (storms at sea)

D2. Within; media (weather “frontal” systems)

D3. Through; surfaces at 90 degrees or so (trees)

D4. Englobements; (some explosions and organisms)

D5. An Idea; located out of normal dimensions of space-time

 

By extending and applying these categories, all events can be given short annotations, e.g.:

A sapling is: A2, B2, C3, and D3.

A falling bomb is: AI, B1, C4, and D2.