COMPLEXITY THEORY- I PENCIL

The article written by Leonard E. Read about the stages and actors involved in the process of manufacturing a pencil is very interesting. Mr Leonard saw the importance of how different actors who are not forming part of the same system assist in bringing about change and being the drivers of development. According to my understanding of this article, people do not need to be regulated or controlled in order to achieve a specific goal or set target, humans are naturally driven by ambition, and when their collective efforts collaborate, change and development is born. The message passed through by this article is that “no one person can do everything, but all of us can do something.” Looking at the manufacturing process of a pencil, one basic and important element underlies it’s develop “communication”. With communication in the complex web of actors involved, from those who special in timber, to those who mine the graphite which is later refined and mixed with other elements to produce what is considered as lead, which makes the pencil do its job, to write. With communication the resources produced by these actors are able to collaborate in one specific manufacturing factory and manufacture a pencil. Organizationally and individually beings have the potential of driving positive change, the problem lies when regulations are predefined to regulate the level of positive outcomes. The problem lies limit with the systems which exists that have the potential of limiting the ability of beings.  The efforts of beings are interconnected, but loosely also isolated by individualism.