The Limits of Rational Objectivity

A good salad has a flavor that transcends the nature of its individual ingredients.

The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Every bite of that salad will bring you a different combination of the components of the salad, but the unifying flavor is still distinct to that salad. One fork-full may not have a tomato, but the tomato’s essence still permeates the bites of lettuce and other ingredients that made it into your mouth.

Once the parts are combined you can’t truly separate the whole back into its original components.

You can’t take the eggs out of a cake once its baked.

The Difference Between Analysis and Synthesis

There is a difference between analysis and synthesis:

Analysis tries to deconstruct the whole. It seeks attribution and answers.

Through analysis we separate a thing into its individual elements and attempt to attribute certain characteristics to specific elements.

Analysis is asking: what gives the salad this distinct flavor? Is it the dressing, the quality of the lettuce, or a specific ingredient?

Synthesis is the process of taking individual elements and creating something new that is greater than the sum of its parts. Through synthesis we create a bigger picture in which the boundaries of each element are blurred.

Which part of the salad’s flavor comes from the dressing and which part comes from the ingredients? In a good salad, you can’t really find that line.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts

This principle applies across a range of areas and topics.

The Zodiac Signs: More Than Their Elements

Over the past few months, I’ve been publishing a series of essays in which I delineate each zodiac sign into its discrete elements as a path to understanding the archetype. I’ve found this exercise to be a helpful in deepening my knowledge of the component parts, which in turn helps me understand all signs in more depth. But it’s just a starting point.

As I review each piece, I’m struck by how it only scratches the surface. A lot of nuance gets lost when you try to separate the whole and attribute characteristics to elements.

Many aspects of the archetype can be contributed to multiple elements — and the way they blend together in this particular salad.

The same is true of other disciplines and subject areas.

The Body: A Complex System of Systems

Take the body. As a yoga teacher, I field a lot of questions from students who are seeking answers and attribution to explain why a body part hurts.

Why does your back hurt? Is it because of something you did in your workout? Is it because of a compensation pattern stemming from pelvic alignment or foot strength? Perhaps it’s a result of your posture and the way you use your body in the hours when you’re not working out.

Analysis tries to find the cause; synthesis recognizes that it’s not so linear. From my own history of pain and injury I’ve learned that the answer is often “all of the above” and also more: sometimes the pain has little or nothing to do with biomechanics and is more attributable to unseen emotional or psychosocial factors, such as how supported a person feels, stress, and other life factors.

Real Estate: Value Beyond Rooms and Views

Real estate appraisers have a list of various elements they consider when assessing the value of a home. Each element has a value. Their analysis attempts to be scientific, detached, and objective — very Aquarian.

The problem with this approach is that it ignores what you can’t see. First, it doesn’t consider what other homes were on the market when that home sold: what was the supply and demand situation?

Second, it ignores the reality of the emotional component. Human beings buy homes, and their valuations are inherently subjective. There are factors that influence the result that can never be quantified on a spreadsheet. Some we can’t see and some we don’t even know exist.

In our increasingly data-driven world, we’re seeing this tension playing out more strongly. AI tools and algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data points, but they can’t synthesize the often-unpredictable human elements: the emotional resonance, timing issues, and other unseen factors that influence decisions.

More than we’d like to admit, our decisions are based on emotion. A certain location or view might be worth more to a buyer than the value an appraiser puts on it. Sometimes a buyer is motivated by a desire to win the home over others who are interested in it, or by a life situation that requires an immediate move.

This human factor is especially relevant in a field like real estate, where no two homes are exactly alike and no two buyers have exactly the same needs.

Are there patterns that we can discover through analysis?

Of course.

And also, there’s an element to the process that requires attunement to human emotions.

The Limits of Analysis

When seeking an explanation for something, our first instinct is often to engage in analysis — to break down the whole into its component parts for the purpose of attributing cause and finding answers.

Analysis seems like a rational approach because it feels detached and objective. It takes us out of our subjective perspective; it removes the baggage we bring as humans. It is safe.

But it’s the removal of the human experience that makes analysis incomplete.

Causation is complicated. The body is a system of systems. Health is attributable to many factors succeeding in tandem; injury and illness occur because multiple components break down.

Our personalities and behaviors are not dictated by only one factor; they are shaped by multiple influences.

Why a product launch succeeds or fails is not attributable to one reason; it’s a mix of several things working well (or not working well) together.

Why a home sells for a certain price cannot be boiled down to a spreadsheet of elements and their valuation; there’s always a subjective component.

The Magic of Synthesis

While analysis can show us the pieces, synthesis reveals the magic that happens when those pieces dance together. It’s an art form that requires deep understanding of human nature, emotional intelligence, and the ability to see beyond the visible data points.

In a world increasingly driven by metrics and AI analysis, this human capacity for synthesis becomes even more crucial — and valuable.

You need to be able to see beyond the component parts and appreciate the integrated picture.