Convergence and divergence in the production of energy transformation hierarchies

•Intermediate points of divergence are found in energy transformation hierarchies.•Commodity chains are energy transformation hierarchies with intermediate divergence.•Cultural production includes important steps of convergence and divergence.•Upgrading of culture in a hierarchy of information cycles includes divergence.

Divergence is an undertheorized process in energy transformation hierarchies. Energy transformation hierarchies are generally described as a stepwise convergence of energy and materials, with characteristic properties of increasing storage size, turnover time, and spatial scale, but they may also include the action of divergence that feeds other scales or systems of convergence. These patterns are particularly obvious when systems theory is applied to understanding economic “commodity chains” in the global economy. Divergence is also a fundamental process in the production of culture in “information cycles”. After a conversation, for example, the divergence of people with new information into the world, where that information is tested and possibly selected again, is a fundamental step in the wide sharing and upgrading of cultural information. A general conclusion is that divergence makes outputs available to coupled systems or scales that differ in space, function, or time.