KS-001.d — Causal Convergence & Causal Divergence

Additional Concepts in Causality: Causal Convergence & Causal Divergence

In this fourth and last part of this Technical Post, I will introduce the concepts of Causal Convergence and Causal Divergence, which will expand our language and enable us to speak about Causality in an even more realistic way, given that our Actions and our Words have consequences which function in non-linear ways.

Causal Convergence refers to the notion of many Causal Events culminating in a single outcome.

In this Illustration we have a large number of Causal Events, which lead to a single Causal Event on the right side. This point of convergence is called the Convergence Apex.

I believe that all of us can readily identify situations in our own daily lives in which we can recognize Causal Convergence. When a group of friends meet for coffee at Café Chapultepec, the gathering at the Café is the Convergence Apex of all the Causal Sequences that each of the people present went through to get there. Or when a new product is released for sale, and appears for the first time on the shelves of a store, that event is the Convergence Apex of numerous Causal Sequences involving hundreds or thousands of Causal Events representing all the actions that had to be taken to design, manufacture and distribute the new product.

In terms of our Inquiry, I am the Intelligent Human Being that I am today as the Convergence Apex of all the events that have taken place not only in my own personal Life, but in the lives of dozens, or perhaps hundreds of other people, who, in one way or another, have had an influence or have had an impact in my own Life. In fact, moment to moment to moment, I am, as an Intelligent Human Being, the Convergence Apex of an infinity of Causal Sequences. We will discuss this idea in fine detail, and will use it extensible; it is a simple idea, but one that makes many things about our daily lives clear and easy to grasp and understand.

A somewhat inverse process is that of the Causal Divergence. Causal Divergence refers to the notion of many Causal Events emerging from, or arising out of, a single one. Here is the illustration:

As in the previous case, we are only introducing language to refer to experiences we have every day. Look for examples in your own personal life and post them in the comments.

The single event out of which the Causal Divergence springs is called the Divergence Apex. From moment to moment to moment in our daily lives, we are producing Divergence Apexes.

This is specially true of the things we say. There is a Chinese proverb that says: “The wise man considers his words carefully for he knows that words will travel the ten thousand miles”. Along the same lines, the first of The Four Agreements by don Miguel Ruiz can be stated as: “Be impecable with your word”.

This simple concept, Causal Divergence, will help us at a minimum become aware of the consequences of our actions and our words, and in the best case will help us take responsibility for it all. In the course of our Inquiry Work, with the help of these two simple concepts, we will discover the tremendous impact that our words and our actions have upon the ways in which we are intelligent, and upon the ways we are not. By taking responsibility, we will be able to make significant advances in both areas.