Extremes

March 2021

I acknowledge extremes can be very beneficial as experience shows when and where those extremes challenge failed thinking and practices or the limits of knowledge. But, extremes can also be quite harmful. This short essay attempts to hi-light some of the concerns associated with extremes.

Before exploring extremes, that discussion will be made more relevant after a brief introduction and contextualization with the notion of balance. In other words in order to know extreme one must first know balance. It is also worth mentioning to know balance one must learn about it through our senses and analytically. Indeed we spend a good deal of time throughout our lives in pursuit of balance and the enjoyment of it. Here are some examples: learning to stand; a tower of wooden blocks; riding a bicycle; achieving a balanced education; balancing a budget; recognizing and enjoying healthy diversity; seeing and understanding the components of symmetry; a balanced climate system; yin and yang.

This discussion, also, cannot be divorced from the ultimate purposes of design and actions. What are we trying to achieve within systems, an economy and society? Do we aim for broad benefit or personal gain? Do we have any goals or are we just allowing the myriad of decisions to take their course leading to blind outcomes, the unknown unknowns?

Currently in our world we are trying to come to grips with the viral infection, Covid-19 and variants. Every nation is now scrambling for vaccines, but as everyone will or should know it is not an even playing field and until we ensure herd immunity at 70 % of the total global population we risk seeing more variants and more difficulties in an effort to shut the virus down. Wealthy nations will get their vaccinations, but that will not be the end of the story. We need a balanced response.

More and more we are now dealing with the outcomes of climate change / global warming. A well balanced climate is largely unnoticeable, it just turns over season after season with little irregularity. Yes change occurs but incrementally over great stretches of time. Now we are seeing and feeling the consequences of an extreme shift in one of the variables, greenhouse gas emissions. This is an example where balance is sent into turmoil because a variable of consequence begins to dominate. Indeed, that is the issue concerning extremes. When variables cause significant imbalance the system involved transitions into an altered course. As I mentioned at the outset, sometimes extremes can be beneficial achieving much needed course correction. But where extremes upset a good, working, balanced system, the results are likely to degrade.

My wife just made brownies from a good recipe and she executed it well. Delicious. Where and when a well balanced diverse system is dramatically altered, such as cutting out the heart of a healthy mixed woodlot, recovery will take years to accomplish a new balance. Balance does not stifle, in fact quite the opposite as ideas come from diversity and different ways and backgrounds of considering. Diminishing diversity with mono or stifling scale or single dominating purpose in the end accomplishes little.

Generally extremes live outside balance which is not a problem until the extreme begins to take on power, control and undue influence. Consider a lovely calm day with blue skies, maybe a few fluffy clouds and lots of sun, a variation on normal. These are the sorts of days we hope for, the days when sitting and eating and playing outside are possible and welcome. Now consider some of the potential extremes in weather, the outliers that periodically come trundling through leaving an enormous amount of damage in their wakes: hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storm conditions (in all seasons) all with serious amounts of wind and maybe water. These are weather extremes and although they occur with some degree of regularity around the globe, scientists are indicating the severity and frequency of the extremes are increasing. There are other types of extremes sitting outside societal norms induced by people, some political, some industrial, some from neglect, some from ignorance, some resulting from a move to maximize personal gain, power and control. Consider the thousands of abandoned gas and oil wells or the devastation of landscape caused by resource extraction (especially where and when perpetrators just walk away from their responsibilities to repair) or political insurrections and coups that destabilize societies and wider regions or global pandemics causing great numbers of deaths and over-stretched healthcare systems and budgets or humanity’s apparent inability and lack of commitment to prevent and clean up plastic waste or extreme prejudice by population groups against ‘others’ or poverty or urban growth into important soil, agricultural and natural areas.

The problem with extremes as noted is they linger and maybe become worse unless they are corrected. The ones noted have been with us for many decades and herein lies a serious dilemma and trend toward broad degradations. The dilemma involves the moral or ethical need to correct within a societal mindset that begins to recognize these extremes as normal. The related concern of course must involve figuring out how to do it. The tragedy in all of this jeopardy grows to a point where dealing with the extremes increases beyond a willingness and ability to devote the resources necessary to correct. The extremes then spiral out of control and ultimately transform into crises when damage and degradation is inevitable and far more devastating. 

We are all familiar with the phrase “never happen again”. It is a well meant thought, but largely empty if the underlying causes of the ubiquitous extremes are not corrected including complacency about, disrespect for and exploitation of our limited and vulnerable world.