Seasons and weather

The cycle of the seasons is a basic form of alternation, especially perceptible in the non-tropical zones. Perception of the movement through the 'four' seasons has become well-characterized and has fundamental implications for the organization of activities such as agriculture and the cultural activities dependent upon them. The seasonal contrasts are recognized by variations in the weather. There is an instinctive understanding of how the parameters of weather (wet, dry, hot, cold, wind, calm) give rise to an alternating pattern of distinctive phenomena (storm, heat wave, etc.).

Both the seasons and alternating weather patterns suggest ways of understanding the constantly shifting patterns of social dynamics.

The manner in which the transitions between distinct seasons or types of weather can be described as continuous transformations rather than perceptual discontinuities (as in other cases of alternation). The subtle variations of weather are well recognized and therefore an ideal substrate for encoding.

The metaphor is extensively used to describe social phenomena (e.g. 'stormy situation') but has not been developed into a systematic descriptive language encoding the complexities of social dynamics. There is unfortunately a well-developed tendency to consider 'rain' as 'bad' weather and 'sun' as 'good' weather which takes little account of the environmental significance of such phenomena.

Importance of seasonal and weather variation. Duration of seasons and types of weather. Flood, drought, hurricanes, etc.