| Structure: The Universal Thread from Atoms to Nations “Structure shapes change in the universe and prosperity in human society.” This column is inspired by Neil deGrasse Tyson The Illusion of Solidity Some time ago, my wife and I spoke with pride about a famous singer from a Kibbutz. We did not know her or her Kibbutz personally, yet simply because she was a Kibbutz member and a great singer, we felt proud as though she were one of our own. Our daughter, hearing our reaction, asked why we were so excited when we had no connection to her. We explained that our feelings toward other Kibbutz members are like the pride one feels in a neighbor. When someone close to you, whether a neighbor, a colleague, or even your national team, is recognized for an achievement, you share in it even though it is not yours, because it reflects on who you are. For those who grew up on a Kibbutz, that sense of belonging extends to the entire Kibbutz movement, which carries our history, our values, and much of what shaped us. What is striking is that this sense of belonging endures even after one has left the Kibbutz. Can this belonging be seen or touched? If you were to walk through a Kibbutz today, you would notice green lawns, fields, orchards, homes, factories, and schools. The spaces are vast and built for shared life, yet the Kibbutz often appears quiet and nearly empty, since many members are at home, employed outside the Kibbutz, or traveling abroad. In physical terms, the people you will see are only a fraction of what the community manages and sustains. And yet, despite the small visible presence, the Kibbutz continues to function as a coherent whole: it raises children, produces goods, cares for the elderly, and makes collective decisions even when its members are dispersed. What makes this possible is not buildings, monuments, or fences, but structure. Shared values, mutual trust, routines, norms, and a shared history and story create coherence. The structure is invisible yet as real as gravity, which no one can see, smell, or touch, yet whose effects can be measured and whose impact cannot be avoided. It does not reside in any single person or place, but rather in the shared expectations that organize behavior and direct energy, allowing the system to act as a unified whole. Its presence is reflected in documents such as bylaws, meeting protocols, or membership records, but these are only representations. The structure itself exists in the commitments and understandings that bind members together. Because it is carried in meaning rather than matter, the identity it creates can persist even after someone leaves, and it can fail to take root even in those who remain inside the gates. This reality is not unique to Kibbutzim. Every company, institution, or nation that endures depends less on the physical presence of its members than on the structure that organizes their roles and relationships. Success comes not from what such systems contain, but from how they are held together. What feels real is often assumed to be solid, yet reality begins not with solidity but with structure, a principle that holds for societies just as it does for the very fabric of matter itself. From Particles to Coherence Look at your hand; it feels solid, firm, and undeniably real. You can press it against a table, hold a pen, and lift a glass, and the same sense of solidity seems to apply to the walls, streets, and trees around you. Yet this solidity is an illusion. Everything you see and touch is built of molecules, and those molecules are built of atoms, which are mostly empty space. If an atom were enlarged to the size of a football stadium, its nucleus would be a marble at the center, while the nearest electron would circle close to the outer wall. Between them lies a vast distance without matter, space stabilized only by invisible forces. Still, atoms endure; they do not collapse inward or fly apart because their structure holds. That same structure allows them to combine into molecules, which form cells, which in turn form life, making societies possible. An atom’s capability comes not from the amount of matter it contains, but from the order of its relationships. If all the space within the atoms of every person on Earth were removed, the entire human race would be compressed into the size of a sugar cube. As the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has noted, “You're a ghost made real by structure, not substance.” That structure is composed of fundamental forces such as electromagnetic and nuclear interactions, which balance opposing elements. Within every atom, there is tension: electrons prevented from collapsing, protons forced together despite repelling one another. Contradiction is not erased but contained, energy is not lost but directed, and coherence is preserved. What holds for the atom also holds for the Kibbutz. Its members may be dispersed, their roles may differ, and their interests may clash, yet the community functions as one because its structure channels tension into coherence and turns contradiction into capability. Reality, whether in physics or in society, does not begin with mass but with structure, not with matter but with relationship, not with substance but with pattern. What makes anything real is the way it is held together. Biology – Structure Enables Life The same principle is evident in biology; a living organism is not defined by the materials it contains, but by the way its parts are structured into relationships. The materials are the same as in nonliving matter, composed of atoms such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon, yet life appears not from the atoms themselves but from the way they are structured to interact across multiple levels. The human body is composed of trillions of cells, each filled with molecules, organelles, and encoded information. What defines life is not the presence of these elements, but the way they are arranged. Cells form tissues, tissues form organs, and organs form systems, and across all of them, function depends on alignment. No single part can act alone; a liver cell outside the body does not detoxify, and a neuron outside the brain does not produce thought. Life arises only when differentiated parts are arranged to serve a common function and when that arrangement can contain and direct the pressures acting within it. Even within a single cell, survival depends on structure; the membrane regulates flow, the nucleus stores and transmits instructions, and the mitochondria generate usable energy. These elements face opposing demands of openness and containment, stability and change, yet they are arranged in a way that prevents collapse. The cell does not erase these tensions; instead, it turns them into function. When the structure is lost, the cell dies. The materials may remain, but the system dissolves. What made it alive was not its content, but its capacity to hold contradiction and metabolize it into capability. Biology, therefore, confirms what physics has already shown: structure is the difference between substance and life. Like atoms and societies, organisms are not made real by what they contain, but by how they are held together to do what none of their parts could do alone. Society – Structure Holds People Together The same principle is evident in societies; like organisms, they are not defined by their members alone but by how those members are held together. People are the visible surface, but what makes them a society is the structure that organizes their interactions across time. That structure is not physical; it cannot be seen or weighed, yet it is real. It is formed by shared rules, beliefs, institutions, customs, and obligations. These invisible forces shape behavior, direct energy, and allow millions of people, most of whom will never meet, to act as a single coherent system. Cities create the illusion of solidity; we see buildings, roads, schools, and offices, but these are only containers. What makes a society function is not its infrastructure but its coordination. A teacher in one district, a farmer in another, and a judge in a third are linked through systems of meaning, trust, enforcement, and exchange, without which even a small town could not endure. Every society contains tension, shaped by contradictions between generations, classes, and roles: some call for change while others seek continuity. These pressures cannot be erased, but they can be contained and directed. Societies that renew their structures to manage tension more effectively can turn pressure into progress, and in doing so, make their own advancement possible. What defines a society’s strength is not its territory or its wealth, but the quality of its structure and the way it organizes differences into shared direction. When relationships are aligned and differentiated, the system becomes more than the sum of its parts. As with atoms and organisms, societies are made real not by what they contain, but by how they are held together to achieve what none could achieve alone. The Universal Law of Increasing Complexity Across physics, biology, and society, the same pattern repeats: when parts are structured into coherent relationships, new capabilities emerge. This is not a coincidence but a law. The Universal Law of Increasing Complexity (ULIC) states that when differentiated elements are held together in a structure capable of containing contradiction and directing energy, the result is greater complexity and the emergence of new functions. Atoms achieve stability not through the amount of matter they contain but through how they organize charged forces. Cells generate life not through special substances but through how they structure metabolic processes to turn internal tension into survival. Societies create prosperity and culture not through population or territory but through how they structure trust, responsibility, and shared purpose. In every layer of reality, size alone does not determine capability. A small atom, when structured, can fuel the energy of stars. A small organism, when structured, can thrive in environments where larger ones fail. A small society, when properly structured, can achieve stability and prosperity that surpasses the reach of much larger states. What matters is not how much there is, but how well it is organized. Complexity does not increase just through addition but through structure, and what emerges is not only more but also more capable. Systems evolve not by growing larger but by reorganizing into higher levels of order that can contain contradiction and turn pressure into possibility. The ULIC uncovers the hidden principles behind systems that persist, adapt, and succeed, and it also explains why so many fail. When structure weakens, when tension overwhelms alignment, or when energy dissipates without direction, complexity unravels and systems fall apart. Where structure remains strong, systems progress, and where it fails, even the strongest components cannot function. Why Structure Determines Capability Every system has a limit, and that limit is not defined by size but by structure. A system's capabilities depend on how its parts are arranged, how tension is managed, and how energy is directed toward its purpose. Atoms cannot form molecules unless their structure permits stable bonds. Cells cannot form organs unless their membranes, signals, and functions are coordinated in space and time. Societies cannot generate safety, prosperity, or innovation unless their internal structures enable such outcomes. Capability is never about strength or size alone; it depends on how effectively a system is held together and what it is designed to become. This explains why some systems with limited means outperform others with much greater inputs. Structure is the mechanism that transforms potential into performance, determines how contradictions are managed, and decides how many parts can act as a whole. Weak structures collapse under pressure; they disperse energy, inhibit feedback, and fall apart when faced with contradiction. Strong structures sustain tension, absorb shocks, and turn friction into unity. A capable system is not one without conflict but one that integrates conflict; it does not erase difference but arranges it into alignment. It does not avoid complexity but turns complexity into capability. In human societies, such capability is expressed as prosperity. The difference between those who prosper and those who remain poor is not land, resources, or population, but structure. Where trust is aligned, purpose is shared, and relationships are organized, prosperity follows. Where these are absent, growth remains fragile and potential is wasted. Capability is never just about strength or size; it is about how effectively a system is integrated and what it is meant to become. What Structure Is and What It Is Not Structure is the pattern of relationships that holds a system together and enables coherence. It allows tension to be contained, energy to be directed, and differences to be aligned. Without structure, parts scatter or collapse. With it, they stay connected and create capabilities greater than their sum. Structure manifests itself in various ways. Sometimes it is invisible, embedded in trust, norms, and expectations. Other times, it becomes evident in documents, buildings, or machines. However, the visible forms are not the structure itself; they are representations of it, containers that express or preserve the underlying relationships. In societies, this duality appears as the distinction between formal rules and informal practices. Both are important, but endurance mainly relies on the relationships people recognize and maintain. A strong structure balances constraint and flow; it prevents collapse by setting boundaries, yet it directs movement by allowing energy, information, or trust to circulate. If a structure is too rigid, it breaks under pressure; if it is too loose, it dissolves. Enduring systems are those that adapt without losing coherence, altering their arrangements while preserving the relationships that make them whole. Design is not the same as structure. Design is the deliberate act of arranging elements to reach a specific goal. Atoms have structure but lack design. Human communities possess both, yet their survival depends more on the strength of their structure than on the elegance of their design. Failures often come from confusing the two: mistaking a blueprint for reality, or assuming that a plan on paper guarantees a living system. Design guides, but structure decides: intention explains what we seek; structure determines what can endure. Structure also explains why Genordo and the Universal Law of Increasing Complexity hold. In Genordo, structure is the element that determines whether energy and direction can create capability. Energy without structure disperses, and direction without structure cannot take hold. The Universal Law of Increasing Complexity applies the same principle universally: complexity increases only when structure can contain contradiction and transform it into new function. Structure is the hinge between potential and reality, the condition that decides whether tension leads to collapse or to emergence. What Makes Us Real I began this column with a feeling of pride in someone I had never met, from a movement I no longer formally belong to. The pride was not about the individual but about the Kibbutz structure that still shapes my identity. The feeling was real, even though the structure behind it was unseen. The Kibbutz was not held together by physical closeness or routine, but by how its members, values, responsibilities, and stories were organized into coherence. The structure was not material but relational, not visible yet deeply functional, and it allowed the community to endure even when its people were dispersed. The same principle applies to atoms, to cells, and to societies. What makes any system real is not the amount of matter it contains, but the quality of its structure and the way its parts are held together. Reality, in the end, is defined not by mass but by structure. The ULIC shows that emergence is not a matter of chance but the outcome of structure. When contradiction is contained, when energy is directed, and when difference is aligned, new capabilities appear. From physics to prosperity, structure transforms matter into life, life into society, and society into capability. And if one day your child asks why you feel connected to your birthplace, community, country, or traditions, you will know the answer: those connections are not memories alone, but structures that continue to support and define who you are. Atoms are held together by fundamental forces, cells by organization, and societies by trust and purpose. In every case, what makes us, and everything around us, real is not what we are made of, but how we are held together. |
