Long ago, when kings used to be on a region acquisition spree, they had to frequently traverse alien lands and unchartered territories. The long expeditions were usually very taxing. Constant supplies of food, water were not always existent and such inconsistency led to casualties on many occassions. To mitigate one of these risks - that of water - kings decided that they shall travel alongside flowing rivers on their way. The available water proved to be a precious resource and the traversed river banks proved to be extremely resourceful. How? From yore, civilizations have sprung up on river banks. Not just on random river banks - but those from where the water is easily accessible, resources from water are exchangeable, accessibility to other resources is facilitated et al. All this helped the royal land explorers. These civilizations either became allied forces or got acquired, crushed brutally by the acquirers. This approach continued to be taken as time progressed.

You might not realize but the approach is extremely pertinent even today - in all our lives.

New college, new job, new research project, new state, new country - how does one acclimatize oneself with all this in quick time? Pertinent question that has an elementary answer - follow the 'Information flow'.

The metaphorical 'rivers' of today are rivers of information. Any new environment brings with it a typical information flow and corresponding nodes within the information hierarchy. The best way to get around this is to follow the flow. Much as civilizations were created on river banks, business families are created on 'information banks'. Liaising with such families and allied entities is what they call 'networking' today. Areas just near to the information-river banks present the low hanging fruits - everyone has access to them. If you want to create value, go beyond the plankton and wade deeper into the river.

Its just amazing how aspects of history manifest themselves so very seamlessly into today's scheme of things. It just makes one wonder if the core principles of life have changed at all - Maybe they haven't but the modes of living life and the various interconnections between these modes have matured.

Complexity is inevitable but then in this case - do you want to follow the flow and align your thoughts too in the same complex manner or do you want to think different/think simple? Think about it.