Without the agents within, a CAS ceases to meaningfully exist. In human terms, we are so much more than mere components set to a task of specialisation in a rigid system, and we know this isn’t how the real world works. The most successful navigators we have known have used the human elements of song and story to evolve and bring entire cultures from one shore to another in a vast, unknown and sometimes dangerous ocean; navigating the shifting waters of complexity can be harder than ever in the modern world. It can be even harder when concepts and ideas seem in turn complex or inaccessible, so how can we all become part of the journey?

When we have taught ourselves to learn poorly, and wilfully ignore the boundaries and signifiers offered to us by our environment, it’s easy to lose our way. Here, we explore a more abstracted, connected view of many concepts – culture, language, agility, complexity, collaboration, tools, and lenses and scaffolds amongst them – not to provide an answer today, but to see if we can seed change in the way we think about how these things – and each other – are interconnected… and perhaps when and how to use (or not use) them.

It’s very hard to keep multiple resolutions in our view as we try to find our way, and very easy to focus on only one, but navigating this complex world together – in waters both corporeal and metaphysical – can offer better and more numerous opportunities for success.