Mutations and Flaws: when everything in a natural system is uniform and stable, then nothing is happening. And if nothing happens, then a sense of Being is absent. Everything becomes a statue that shows no evidence of life. Similarly, ideas emerge from instability. An idea exists as it bumps up against other ideas and evolves into something that is increasingly clear and mature. Evolutionary theorists identify the important role played by mutations, and evolutionary variations and flaws. Organizational theorists write about the cracks and niches in a system that produce innovation (Stacey, 1996). Intellectual historians describe the powerful role of intersecting ideas and practices, accompanied by intermixing disciplines and professions (Johansson, 2004).
With regard to evolutionary mutations and flaws, there is a classic (sometimes controversial) theory in the field of evolutionary biology, called the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, which provides rich insight to not only those interested in evolutionary change, but also the psychology of nothingness. The Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium model works backwards with reference to evolutionary change. It concerns the five key assumptions that lead to NON-change in terms of biological evolution. It is in non-change that we find a vacuum and sense of nothingness.
The first assumption is that there are no mutations in a population. This would mean that all genes, as the basis of life forms, are the same for all members of a species. There is no room, in other words, for variations or mistakes. The second assumption is that any specific population is isolated. Individual members of a specific population (community) can’t migrate into or emigrate from that specific community. Members of any species within a specific community can only breed with individuals from the same community.
The third assumption that would block biological evolution concerns the population size. The population must be very large for the blocking of evolution to occur—leading to the averaging out of differences among members of any one species. If the community is small, any differences will have a major impact (big frog in a small pond), whereas in a large community, differences will be absorbed and not have a large impact.
The fourth Hardy-Weinberg assumption concerns mating preferences. There will be little evolution if mating is random—anyone from the other gender will do, and there is not much discrimination. If members of a species show preferences for those of the opposite sex who are bigger, stronger, prettier, faster, smarter, or hairier, then evolution is more likely to occur. The final assumption to be made is closely related to the fourth. It concerns survival and reproduction in a specific population. Evolution is unlikely to occur if everyone in the community has an equal chance of survival and an equal opportunity, as a surviving adult, to mate and produce offspring. It is a dull world of nothingness if everything is the same and nothing stands out. The world is certainly not colorful. It is not even black and white. Everything is gray.
If there are no mutations in a population then evolution will not take place. There is no room for variations or mistakes in a system in equilibrium. Innovation requires that things are not always going right in an organization. There must be variations if the organization is to generate innovations. Scott Page (2011) writes about the generation of multiple ideas (mutations) and the power of diversity within any system in his very challenging book, Diversity and Complexity. Page suggests that a world filled with many perspectives is one in which good ideas, clear thinking, and accurate information are likely to emerge: “if we have lots of diverse paths . . . , we are not likely to make mistakes. If we only have a few paths, mistakes are likely.” (Page, 2011, p. 240)
