The Rhizome

At ByBa, we are building something quietly ambitious: a growing library of conceptual papers called The Other.

It will not be a collection of motivational texts.
It will be a toolbox of ideas powerful enough to alter the way we think, create, and connect.

One of those papers will explore in depth a concept that, once understood, changes how creativity itself is perceived: the rhizome.

Before we enter its principles, let’s define it.

A rhizome is a botanical structure: roots that grow horizontally underground, spreading in multiple directions without a central trunk. Ginger is a rhizome. Bamboo expands through rhizomes. There is no single origin point, no hierarchy, no main branch.

Philosophically, the concept was developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari to describe systems that are non-hierarchical, non-linear, and continuously generative.

Creatively, the rhizome is explosive.

It challenges the “tree model” of thinking — the idea that knowledge, identity, or projects grow from a central root into ordered branches.
Instead, it proposes something else: connection without hierarchy, multiplicity without origin, movement without fixed direction.

Let’s examine its principles.

1. Connection

Definition
Any point of a rhizome can connect to any other point.

There is no required path, no predetermined sequence.

Creative example
A filmmaker connects astrophysics with childhood memories.
A designer links medieval typography to digital glitches.
A musician samples birds, engines, and political speeches in the same composition.

The rhizome does not ask: “Does this belong here?”
It asks: “What happens if this connects to that?”

Creative use
Train yourself to connect distant domains intentionally.
Create weekly exercises where two unrelated fields must intersect.
Innovation often begins not in depth, but in unexpected adjacency.

2. Heterogeneity

Definition
Connections are not between similar things, but between different ones.

The rhizome thrives on difference.

Creative example
An architect inspired by fungi networks.
A business model inspired by coral reefs.
A novel structured like a playlist.

Creative use
Instead of seeking coherence first, seek diversity.
Introduce radically different inputs into your process.
Heterogeneity prevents stagnation and increases creative resilience.

3. Multiplicity

Definition
A rhizome is not one thing. It is always many.

It cannot be reduced to a single narrative, identity, or axis.

Creative example
A project that functions simultaneously as art, research, and social intervention.
An individual who is not “just” a designer, but also an educator, gardener, and theorist.

Creative use
Allow projects to have multiple purposes.
Allow yourself to hold multiple identities.
Creativity strengthens when we resist reduction.

4. Asignifying Rupture

Definition
If a rhizome is broken, it does not die. It regrows along another line.

It does not depend on a single meaning or structure to survive.

Creative example
A failed exhibition becomes a digital platform.
A rejected manuscript becomes a podcast.
A closed space becomes a distributed community.

Creative use
Design projects that can mutate.
When interruption happens, do not interpret it as an ending.
Interpret it as redirection.

5. Cartography

Definition
The rhizome is a map, not a tracing.

It is open, connectable, modifiable.

Creative example
A creative process documented as evolving diagrams rather than rigid plans.
A research project built as an open archive.

Creative use
Map your thinking instead of outlining it.
Draw constellations, not trees.
Cartography invites exploration.

6. Decalcomania (Tracing)

Definition
Tracing replicates. Mapping invents.

The rhizome resists mere copying.

Creative example
Imitating a trend versus translating it into your own context.
Repeating a style versus transforming it.

Creative use
Use references as starting points, not molds.
Avoid tracing solutions.
Map your own terrain.

Why This Matters for Creativity

The rhizome is not just a metaphor.

It is a creative operating system.

It supports play — because it allows free connection.
It supports intelligence — because it tolerates complexity.

It reduces fear of fragmentation.
It legitimizes multidirectionality.

It tells us: you don’t have to grow upward to grow meaningfully.
You can grow sideways.

And sideways growth is often more sustainable.

The rhizome dissolves the anxiety of linear progress.
It invites creative proliferation instead of perfection.

This is why it deserves a full paper in The Other.

If this concept resonates with you, subscribe to The Golden Nose (TGN) and be the first to know when The Other launches.

Because some ideas are not meant to be read once.
They are meant to reorganize the way you think.