Perceiving Parts as a Whole

Landmark: Perceiving Parts as a Whole
Beacons	Adaptation
Realms	Engagement
Lenses	Special Composition
Guides	Walking

The Landmark of Perceiving Parts as a Whole is a chance to perceive how a lot of things we see everyday can be grouped together naturally to form nearly arbitrary "wholes". This Landmark is within the Realm of Engagement, and is part of the Beacon of Adaptation, more specifically the Lens of Special Composition.

Landmark Lookouts:

• Notice the Parts: Can you see things that are similar in some ways and could be grouped together (such as cars and trees)?
  
• Think About the Parts: Can you see all the ways that these types of "parts" (cars, trees) are both similar (in appearance, purpose, motion, etc.) and yet still individual?
  
• Think About the Whole: Can you shift your perception to see a new type of whole - individuals (cars, trees) with their own purpose, but all part of an interconnected system?
  

There are many exercises you can do while Walking, including the following Special Composition concepts. Depending on where you walk, try out some of these ideas.

• Trees - individuals, clusters, trees of the same species, etc. - How are they individuals, and how are they parts of a whole?
• Sidewalks and the grass next to them, parallel to the road, parallel to the sidewalk across the street - Even though the sidewalks are not "one thing", they are clearly two halves with the same intention - to allow people to walk along the road.
• Streetlights - alongside the sidewalks, in the grass, lighting the street - These are connected through an electric cable, they would typically light up at the same time, and yet they are individual lights that don't seem to be part of a whole. Look now at all the streetlights you can see, and notice how they are in fact one thing - the night-lighting for that area.
• Telephone poles - similar to the streetlights, but not the same at all - Clearly a street light isn't connected to a telephone pole. But do all the telephone poles and all the streetlights fit together into one system? What is that system? Does it include the sidewalks and streets, and why?
• Cars - think about the different ways cars are related. One car - just going somewhere. Two cars - staying safely away from each other and matching the same speed. All the cars - working together to move forward in a way where everyone can get where they want to go. Opposite lanes (going in different directions) - are these separate things just because they're going in different directions, or are they still all part of one system of getting people and things where they need to go?
• People walking in the same direction, and in the opposite direction - all the same ideas as with cars, but now it's much easier to see the intention and individuality. Is there a "whole" when thinking about all the people you see? What about "all the people who chose to walk here today" - is that a "whole"?