Bubbles

Has anyone danced with bubbles lately?

At age 11, Benoit Mandelbrot fled Poland with his family to escape the Nazi threat in 1936.  Later in life, he discovered a new form of mathematics called fractal geometry.  This has been used to produce more realistic computer graphics, more cunning camouflage, and more efficient computer chips.  You’ve undoubtedly seen spirals in plants and seashells alike.  You’ve seen hurricanes and stars in corkscrew patterns.  You’ve seen smoke organically twisting in elegant swirls, and you’ve seen galaxies doing the same thing. Mountains, snowflakes, moose antlers, and dandelion seeds all contain fractals.  They are everywhere.  Mandelbrot’s chaos theory shows that a few simple geometric equations can explain the ways of nature.

Bubbles form obvious fractals.

Notice the designs on the bubbles’ surface.  These patterns are caused by gliding layers of soap molecules that coat a thin membrane of water.  In fact, though a bubble appears to be a single film, there are actually three separate layers like an oreo—an outer layer of soap, a middle layer of h2o, and an inner layer of soap—that form what we see as a bubble.  The two layers of soap are held together by air pressure coming from all directions but are repelled by the water in the middle.  Bubbles are slow to pop because the suds diffuse perfectly as fractals in all directions.  Like currents on earth, they twirl around water while gracefully floating through space.

When two bubbles touch each other, the patterns of soap combine resources.  And though they can’t fully combine until one engulfs the other, the circles come together by sharing molecules.  They unite while remaining separate entities.  In human terms, they are soul mates.

But, instead of two merely finding each other and nothing more, dozens of bubbles will wrap around each other in a spiral-like way, creating a multi-cellular organism.  An individual bubble contains surface fractals, so when a group of bubbles combine, they create a mathematical mosaic for our eyes to see—connected and exchanging resources at an atomic level.

So, I have to raise the question: If there are Mandelbrot fractals all over the place—in the electromagnetic fields of the earth, in the wind, in the waves, in sea foam and in budding plants—then does it not go without saying that humans are fractals too?  Don’t we have spiraling swirls of capillaries and nerve endings?  Don’t we have spinning fingerprints and networks of neurons?  Aren’t we all constantly duplicating and rewiring bundles of fibers spun into long coils of DNA?

As social beings we crave continuous, elegant connections to other humans until the day we burst, just like bubbles.  We love being connected, yet we always find ways to cut ourselves off from the world.  We remove ourselves from certain locations, from those with whom we disagree.  We migrate if and when we sense tension.  Our fearful minds force us to gravitate toward like-minded people in search of an oasis of connectedness, depending upon the location and culture.  We enjoy feeling like we have enough control to calm any angst caused by the storms of life.  However, bubbles never desire control and can align with each other just fine, creating beautiful patterns.  Bubbles practice what humans preach.

Yet, every bubble ceases to exist in its current form once the liquid runs dry, just like humans.  We can fear death or we can embrace it.  But to embrace our natural selves, we must let life blow us where she may.  We must learn to let go.  We must learn to appreciate others—even the crazies—and stay connected to those nearby, for we need one another.  If we remain isolated bubbles, then we have a higher chance of popping.  When we combine resources, we live longer and healthier.

And if, like all of nature, humans are guided by a few simple mathematical formulas, then fear is a product of our narrow vision.  Free yourself.  Stop avoiding others.  Stop quarantining yourself.  Stop fearing chaos.

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One solution: Dance like bubbles.  When we dance and become more fluid, we better connect to our natural homeostasis and we feel more free.  Don’t believe me?  Turn on some music, take a deep breath, light an incense so you’ll have a smoking dance partner, and try it.