Finding Inspiration in an IPA

I have a new favorite IPA. 

It is called State Machine. 

It comes Spyglass Brewing Company in New Hampshire. 

My partner pointed out that the brewery must be owned by former engineers—he recognized a lot of the names have something to do with engineering or physics. Things like Fuzzier Logic, Code Path, Depth of Field, Double Helix, Bitstream, and Continuum.

They also make My Biological Father Was a Refrigerator Repairman.

Not sure how that one is related, but it’s kind of funny.

I had a hard time remembering the name State Machine to order it—because I had no idea what a state machine was.

My partner told me that he once had to make one as an assignment for his electrical engineering degree. State machines are basically systems that are limited to operating in a few different states. For example, a light bulb is a state machine: It’s on, or it’s off. Or a traffic light can only be either red, yellow, or green. State machines are highly structured, with distinct, definable, and separate states. And the next state is also always predictable. 

A traffic light will go from green, to yellow, to red. 

Then back to green.
State machines can also only be in one state at a time. They are defined by clear rules and transitions and ensure that systems behave consistently and predictably. 

Thank goodness we aren’t state machines as human beings. 

But sometimes we act as if we are.

We believe someone is a good person or not a good person.

Arrogant, or not arrogant.

Trustworthy, or not trustworthy.

Or perhaps that person is red, and we prefer green. 

We imagine that in a particular situation, we know how a person is going to act next.

But it is just not that simple. 

In reality, we are non-determinant human beings. In any particular moment, for the most part, we can’t predict what state a person is going to be in next. Sometimes we think someone is going to do or say a certain thing—and when they don’t—we get upset.

It’s a time of fuzzier logic.

Perhaps humans are more like another beer that Spyglass has: Laminar Flow. 

My partner had to explain that one to me too. 

(What can I say? I was an English major. I’m a poet!)

Laminar flow is the way liquids and gases move. It’s like how water flows through a pipe—or how water moves over rocks in a quiet stream. The liquid moves in parallel layers, without those layers necessarily mixing. 

With laminar flow, the liquid can follow a straight or gently curved path. And it’s somewhat predictable how it might flow—as long as the speed is not too fast. 

Humans can be like that, too.
We can move through our days growing and changing, slowly evolving and turning new corners, perhaps becoming even more of who we are.

I want to be laminar flow!

I want to flow like air over airplane wings on a smooth flight. I want there to be a gentle path where I am headed, with some slight turns and shifts. 

But in this world, there are times of turbulent flow. 

When movement is happening too fast and things get a chaotic. There’s drag. Sudden pressure drops. Heat transfer.

In those times, it’s turbulent—but we can default to thinking like state machines.

The world is either good, or it’s not. 
It’s red, or it’s yellow.
This seems like one of those moments.

In these times of great turbulence, I can start to feel like a state machine myself. The “I’m feeling despondent” switch gets turned on.

But it’s in these moments that we must remember people are not state machines. And the world is not either. It is a complex system that is in a constant state of evolution. 

What I do know about complex systems is that they also are inherently intelligent—and generative and creative.

There are many, many other great Spyglass beers at this brewery that we love. And there are many great names that I also adore.

For example: Quantum Entanglement.

If we aren’t there right now as a country and as a world, I don’t know where we are.

And they have a few other great ones: 

Hello World!

Harmonic Wavelengths.

Transcendence.

These are the times when we must focus on those things. Reconnect with the beautiful things that are happening out there in the world. Notice all that is going right and where there is synergy and alignment. Notice as some things are ending abruptly, that new, creative things are emerging. 

We can focus on optimizing how we spend our time and where we put our attention. We can focus on amplifying the good work that needs to be done in the world. 

Essentially, we can focus on finding one small, gently curved path to move our flow forward. 

And remember, there’s always another good IPA to check out.

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