Patterns and Anti-patterns: Why are they addictive ?

From textiles to music, it's undeniable that we are addictive to patterns. What is special about patterns that draw us in?

To understand something, it is essential to think of its opposite as meaning is constantly in motion between opposites. In this case, the opposite of a pattern is simply an anti-pattern. An anti-pattern is possibly a pattern which is unexpectedly broken. Thus an anti-pattern might appear as a perfect pattern until its broken. On the other hand, a pattern is distinguished by its repetitive elements. The simplest example of a pattern is plainness. For instance, a plain white paper is patterned as there are no unexpected breaks in its plainness.

The sudden breaking of patterns into anti-patterns is stressing because the breaking happens at a random time. Otherwise, if the breakout time was known beforehand, then this can be simply regarded as part of the pattern and we can say that the pattern is time-dependent. Therefore, patterns are easier to deal with and digest even if they are time-dependent. This is why patterns are addictive as they give us a sense of security and comfort.

Trying to choose which pants to take on a safari trip.

But what about thriller stories, rollercoaster rides, and extreme sports? At first glance, you might think that they do not follow a pattern but they are still addictive. However, this is not correct as they all do follow some known time-dependent patterns. An anti-pattern in extreme sports or rollercoaster rides would mean an unforeseeable disaster which is certainly an uncomforting thought.

I leave you with an entertaining clip about shape patterns of storytelling: