Cracking the Adjacent Possible

In Backed we talked about why betting on countercultures makes sense.

In New Requirements we opened up on today's tensions and the resultant mass of counter-movements that have emerged to make a case for change, and found ourselves wondering if any of them offer a way to resolution.

In Positive Countercultures we explored how creative communities can show us a path forward by using existing infrastructure to create new and novel outputs.

In The Art of Transformation we observed how creative communities use 5 key strategies to transform things as an act of art.

Now it's time to look at the Adjacent Possible, and how to crack it.

2022 was an extraordinary year in mathematics.

David Smith, a local hobbyist from Yorkshire, England, stumbled upon an enigma that had long eluded even the most brilliant minds: the elusive Einstein tile. A shape capable of creating a pattern that never repeats. The world renowned Physicist Roger Penrose came close in 1974 before declaring it unsolvable.

Here it is.

Together with a team of fellow hobby mathematicians, Smith proved that this tile could extend over an infinite plain without ever repeating—a feat akin to painting a masterpiece across the cosmos, stroke by stroke, never retracing a line.

Yet, the story didn’t end there. As they delved deeper, they discovered a breathtaking truth: this Einstein tile was not a solitary anomaly, but just one of an infinite number of possible Einstein tiles.

Mind. blown.

All this from a bit of consistent tinkering with a shape.

This explains the expansive potential of exploring the adjacent possible.

The adjacent possible refers to the set of possibilities available at a given point in evolution. It’s like a shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, waiting to be explored and realized.

As we try new things, more options become available, leading to further exploration and growth. This concept helps us see how progress is made by taking the next step that’s within reach, and then the next, creating a chain of developments that build on each other. It’s a continuous process of discovery and creation, where each step opens up new possibilities.

To crack the adjacent possible, you need to get used to two key things.

Exploring the Edges

Test boundaries, see what happens. Cruise the perimeter, even just for the learning. In a culture of experimentation and play, we expose ourselves to possibilities. In formal cultures explorative play is often written off as procrastination, and successful tests typecast as business failures. But in creative cultures this is seen as pioneering, or at the very least an essential component of the process, as in design.

Incremental Steps

Small, regular, marked improvements over time make the unknown possible. Take Yosemite's big walls for example. This literal giant climbing problem took years to solve. By breaking it down into pitches - each with their own numerous problems - and exploring new methods to solve them, the possibilities of this once unsolvable problem revealed itself. Today El Cap is climbed in a day, and now there are more than 5 routes up it.

In this respect, the adjacent possible represents a pattern of behavior that is focused on exploring the next possible alternatives, iteratively. It’s a dynamic space where creativity thrives, and where the seeds of future breakthroughs are waiting to sprout.

In enterprise, most new ventures are by their very nature irrational. Because incumbents have already evaluated the opportunity (and sometimes even tried) and concluded, rationally, that it cannot work. Setting out on a new venture is therefore irrational. David Smith from Yorkshire could have been considered mad. But by exploring the edges, taking incremental steps, and turning this into a pattern of behavior, you become exposed to new potentials that can only be realized by cruising these frontiers. It can be lonely, some might misunderstand you, but this is where innovation lies, and often right under our nose.

Have you ever seen a creative work, a new company, or product and thought

"Of course! Why didn't I think of that!"

Well, that's the adjacent possible speaking to you.