A Tangle is a loop of macaroni-like plastic pieces linked together into
a single band like the Pop-it
beads of yore. You can twist and turn and coil and loop - and never
actually tangle the thing into anything untanglable.
Think of it as finger-fodder - something to keep your hands occupied
so you can free your mind to concentrate on what people may or may not
be actually saying. There's just enough complexity in the way the thing
coils and twists to intrigue you out of boredom, enough flexibility and
pliancy to ease you out of anxiety. They're a kind of "don't-worry
beads." Instead of worrying, you worry your Tangle.
Give everyone a Tangle at your next meeting and you set the stage for
the convoluted conceptual calisthenics of concentrated creativity. So
to speak. You also create a possibility for some highly playful interaction,
should the need arise. Because the Tangle is made of pieces that can be
relatively easily popped apart and, with sufficient force, snapped together,
Tangle-equipped participants can, should the spirit so move them, tangle
their Tangles together. Tangles can be linked like loops in a chain or
joined into one big chain. Colors can be combined. Patterns created. Tangles
can be knotted together to create actually tangled Tangles.
Tangles can set the stage for an informal, unstructured, nonverbal,
creative dialogue that can bring people together just when the diversity
of perspectives and understandings threatens to set them apart. In the
joining and separating of Tangles, people create an undercurrent of communication.
The toy not only helps minds stay constructively occupied, but also helps
whole human beings stay connected. Combining, exchanging and untangling
tangled Tangles, people connect and affirm their presence in each other's
lives.
