Universal Principles of Design, Updated and Expanded Third Edition

039 Convergence

A tendency for similar characteristics to evolve independently in similar environments.

Natural or human-made systems that best approximate optimal strategies afforded by the environment tend to be successful, while systems exhibiting lesser approximations tend to become extinct. This process results in the convergence of form and function over time. The degree of convergence in an environment is one indicator of its stability and of the possibilities for different kinds of innovation.

In nature, we see evidence of convergence that has resulted over millions of years; for example, the set of adaptations for flight in birds, bats, and butterflies has converged to just gliding and flapping. In human-created designs, this process ...