Holistic Systems

When driving in your car, have you ever noticed that “funny texture” that appears to move towards and then under the bonnet of your car as you travel forward ? This is known in automotive circles as “the ground”.

“The ground” is one of the fundamentals of driving, it enables your car to accelerate, provides crucial grip when you break and most significantly prevents you and your car from being hurtled towards the centre of the earth by the force of gravity.

“The ground” is also useful in more subtle ways. You may have noticed that “the ground” is not uniform. It is possible to perceive patterns and markings on the ground that provide information that enable you to drive more effectively. For example the dark grey strips provide for a smoother ride than the green bits.

Here’s where it starts to get a little more complicated, but stay with me.

Some of the patterns in that “funny texture” have been put there deliberately in order convey specific information.

The next time you are parking your car, pay particular attention to the ground. With practice you will begin to identify lines or patches of colour on the ground. These lines identify what are known as “parking spaces”, the idea being that you stop your car aligned as closely as possible within the marks.

These “parking spaces” are then arranged so as to maximise the number of cars that can be parked safely and conveniently in a limited space.

If we all parked sensibly and considerately within the marked parking spaces then the world would be a slightly better place !