Whereas state change/phase shift can happen in a chemical medium as a result of change of amount, say, of temperature or pressure, phase shift in humanity can also occur as a result of an increase in population density.  Something happens when populations reach a certain density and organizations reach a certain size, say when we go from the wide open plains, with 10 people per square mile to Hong-Kong, with 18,000 people per square mile.  This is a huge subject, which we will get into in a big way, but to start it off, here is an interesting talk from Ted.com regarding population and states of, prosperity and well-being, let us call it, Felicity.  The speaker talks of increase in Felicity in human global society as a result of ideas having sex – a really powerful metaphor, and a really powerful talk.

What is interesting for our purposes is the relationship beteen population density and levels of exchange. In cities there is a fantastic amount of exchange going on, in the countryside much less (although by the standards of the animal kingdom it is still fantastically high). In future articles we will be exploring the relationship between population density and various types and measures of phase shift.

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