Attractor States and Assumptions

Scouting, Player Development, (and just about anything else in this world)

“The foolish reject what they see, not what they think; the wise reject what they think, not what they see.”

― Huang Po

Some people’s writing calibrates below 200. Which makes it ‘falsehood’. You’re still allowed to write the blog or the book, it’s just simply not true.

Huang Po’s writing calibrates in the 900’s, so we’re good on the truth of this quote. No skepticism required. You can take this one on faith or to the bank, whichever you prefer.

Keep this quote in mind and then read this next one.

"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."

-Buffett

To me, both quotes make me think of ‘attractor states’. What is this term and where does it come from?

In dynamical systems theory, an attractor state is a preferred state that a system tends to evolve towards over time, regardless of its initial conditions. It's a stable state where the system settles, even after experiencing disturbances. Think of it as a "preferred neighborhood" in the system's phase space.

Let’s go back to the map and Hawkins’ first book:

The calibrated scale has been examined here in light of current discoveries in advanced theoretical physics and the nonlinear dynamics of chaos theory. Calibrated levels, we suggest, represent powerful attractor Fields within the domain of consciousness itself, which dominate human existence and therefore define content, meaning, and value, and serve as organizing energies for widespread patterns of human behavior

-David R. Hawkins

What does all that mean? I’ll try to analogize attractor states in two ways you’ve heard about. Both talk in color.

“You have rose colored glasses on.”

It’s no shock that the top level of consciousness is ‘rose-colored’ (light purple and white mixed). The energy states (levels) correspond with the ‘chakra system’ developed in ancient times:

1. Red - First Chakra: Root Chakra (Muladhara),

2. Orange - Second Chakra: Sacral Chakra (Svadhishthana),

3. Yellow - Third Chakra: Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura),

4. Green and Purple - Fourth Chakra: Heart Chakra (Anahata),

5. Blue - Fifth Chakra: Throat Chakra (Vishuddha),

6. Indigo - Sixth Chakra: Third Eye Chakra, (Ajna),

7. Violet and White - Seventh Chakra: Crown Chakra, (Sahasrara).

Someone with rose-colored glasses is annoying to people who live in the neighborhood of lack, anger, and separation. Their optimism is too much for the other person’s negative worldview and disposition.

These people live in two different base ‘attractor states’.

The problems of the world happen because both think they are ‘right’. The chains of ‘habit’ are too light to be detectable in states of falsehood.

This is why Jesus says, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

From where they ‘do’ life, they are right. Even if they aren’t. Even if they are about to crucify another human, they do so with the inclination that they are doing the right thing.

“Keep a Blue Head”

If you’ve read Legacy or studied the All Blacks, they have a saying, “keep a blue head.”

Their opposite, non-desired state when there is adversity in a game, is a ‘red head’.

What does that mean? Scroll back up to the map and check those colors again. The indigenous tribes of New Zealand knew these states intuitively before there was any science or study of non-linear dynamics.

Red- anger, fear, shame, guilt, (yelling at refs over things you can’t control)

Blue- calm, wise, understanding, loving

They knew their ability to stay in a more constructive state of energy for more of the game than their opponent would give them an advantage.

My base state in adversity > your base state in adversity = advantage

What are the other implications of becoming aware of attractor states? Let’s do a few more.

Player Development

Now, anyone who says, 'God bless the grind' around a child of this age has zero connection to God. And that’s not a slight, that’s the truth. Don’t watch the two bouncing basketballs in the video; they are a distraction. The real information comes from this small child’s face. If you watch the entire video, you’ll notice two things…

1. She doesn’t smile for 2:38

2. She looks anxious

Why?

She’s ‘performing’ and trying not to mess up her lines.

She wants to be ‘playing’ freely.

She’s in prison right now, subject to exactly what the coach wants, exactly when he wants it, and exactly how he wants it. Where is the autonomy in that? Hint: there is not.

Quick video reference in case anyone forgot what the game of basketball looks like:

Because this coach believes in and executes what he believes is ‘player development’, by their fruits, ye shall know them. His coaching exists in an attractor state on the map. You can guess in which color ‘neighborhood’ his player development attractor state resides. I’m going to move on to scouting.

Scouting

I’ve watched the Kawamura kid from the above video play in the Summer League over the last few days. The kid is a basketball player, yet he was playing in the B-League in Japan, had a cup of coffee in the NBA last year with one team, and signed a two-way contract with the Bulls this year. My guess is he’ll probably play in the G-League because, well, just Google him. The first few articles point to the fact he’s 5 foot 8 and the shortest player in the NBA.

Did I mention he was pretty good at basketball though? Does that even matter? I keep forgetting he’s 5 foot 8 inches tall, and I’m supposed to believe that matters…

Here’s a lesser-known fact. More players bust because the attractor states of management change from the time the player gets drafted to the time the player arrives. Allow me to elaborate with some predictions:

L.J Mooney is highly attuned, highly adaptable, and good at ice hockey. Talk to everyone else, and the first words they’ll say are, “Man, he’s small.”

L.J. was drafted by a team that has an HC who was talked about similarly. Calgary focused on what Marty St. Louis ‘wasn’t, and they got to be right about him. He didn’t ‘make it’. Tampa focused on what he ‘was, and the rest of his playing career is very look-up-able.

Here’s the thing to focus on. L.J will ‘bust’ if St. Louis gets fired. L.J will bust if Adam Nicholas gets fired. L.J will ‘make it’ if they stay with the team until L.J is ready to play in the NHL.

The NHL GMs don’t make changes like the Soo Greyhounds when it comes to finding a new coach. The NHL goes from Don Granato to Lindy Ruff. All the skilled, smart players one coach liked are of no value when teams pivot 180 degrees on mindset, playing style, coaching style, etc.

When a coach advances in the Soo and leaves the position, their GM replaces the HC with someone who fits what they’ve already been building. They don’t interrupt their process and what they believe in because they have an identity they are unwilling to waver on. Their attractor state and energy remain stable. No boat rocking or changing course necessary.

Here’s another prediction: if Dubas and company get to stay in Pittsburgh long enough for Kale Dach to mature, he’ll make the league as a 7th-round pick and surprise everyone.

If he gets the same fate as he did in his last job, and they bring in the opposite, every player under 6 foot should find a way out of their contract, the new people with the new attractor state won’t find them valuable as players.

If the attractor state of the organization changes, the player’s fate is likely to change.

Destabilizing an attractor state… Really good to get players to stretch and grow their game at the player development level, really destructive at the larger organization level. Context matters.

Sum it up, Buttercup

If you believe in an idea or a person, believe in them regardless of whether you stand alone in that belief.

The popular basketball account is allowed to post things that are ‘false’, you don’t have to assume they are ‘correct’ in their views on player development.

The giant organizations that pile scouting lists together are allowed to not see what you see. And if you see something in someone, you’re allowed to take them in whatever round you want.

To remix the Po quote, the foolish care and take heed in what someone else writes and thinks about a player, and lets that affect how they feel. The wise just pick who they can ‘see’ is a ball player.

Don’t assume they are ‘right’ when based on percentages of elite humans walking around earth is between .4 and 4%. With this knowledge, it’s safer to assume they aren’t right than to assume they are…

Force rejects what it sees for what it thinks.

Power rejects what it thinks for what it sees.

Challenge assumptions based on what your eyes tell you:

For more on non-linear dynamics, consciousness and its application to coaching, click here.