The Law of Three and the Fourth Way
It may seem strange to begin a section on a practical modelling system by first likening it to the philosophical teachings of a late 19th and early 20th century mystic. However if G.I. Gurdjieff was right with the Law of Three, which he further believed to be the basis of all the structures and processes within the universe and Man; then any attempt to model such a universe or even a small part of it must itself be similarly constructed according to the Law of Three. 
The Fourth Way, which describes an approach to self-development in which the subject works on ‘oneself’ and or ‘The System’ to achieve a higher state of being and awareness; is an applicable concept to Di-Functional Modelling. As DFM similarly ‘works upon both the Self and the System in order to achieve a higher state of fertility (being). It is this duality of Self (Man) and System (Environment) that the ‘Di’ in DFM refers too.
Similarly ‘Di’ could also refer to Dynamic as DFM, as with the fourth way, is dynamic. It follows no permanent or prescribed technique, no specific forms or institutions but instead evolves according to the needs of the system rather than to some external pressure or repeatable formula. It is not driven by some imposed criteria but instead by its own needs and limitations: ones that are best expressed through the Law of Three.
Di-Functional Modelling OF AN AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM
FUNCTION
The ‘functional’ aspect of DFM refers to the concept under consideration. In the case of an Agriculture system this is could be the productivity and or sustainability of the enterprise. However both objectives are achieved through the improvement and maintenance of the soils fertility and so the higher function, the one that suits both Man (productivity) and the Environment(sustainability) is the concept of fertility.
Thus the function of the agricultural system and hence the concept under consideration in a DFM of an agricultural system is that of fertility. Components within the system are further arranged within groups according to their relative functions to the concept under consideration (fertility) and not to some external taxonomic classification.
Thus DFM models the system according to the common concept objective of the self and the whole . Components within the system are then organised to reflect this objective so that a higher state, in this case a more fertile soil, becomes a manifest reality.
However in the absence of external criteria all DFM’s must be constructed from real examples. For whilst one can list good practices or recommend particular methods to adopt, the value and relative importance of those practices and methods is dependent on the existing state of the system: its physical, chemical and biological condition.
Determining effectively what processes and methods to then adopt and how to measure those processes and methods with respect to soil fertility is dependent on the current state of the system. One must therefore first begin with a general and specific data gathering exercise to determine the current state of the system. We must first know where we are in order to plan how to get where we want to be. To this ends we need to construct a primary model.
Before concluding this page a few words on the origin of Di-Functional Modelling and the consequence of its discovery. The story of DFM is contained to some degree in the historical pages narcissism corner on this site but more specifically and significantly in the book Connectivity. It was similarly whilst on this journey that at Pushkar, Rajasthan, India (2005) the first draft of DFM was produced and whilst a difficult read it can be found with the other documents from this period on the Connectivity pages in the publications menu.
gathering data: measuring soil properties
next: constructing a primary model
in the absence of the additional pages having been created I have decided to upload the 2nd part of GSS which, whilst still very much a draft exercise, at least gives a better understanding of Di-Functional Modelling and its construction.
guerrilla soil science PART TWO building a dfm
REFERENCES
Free Cultural Works (CC-BY-NC-SA) Malcolm McEwen 2011
