Wikipedia - Tide
Field of reference: Physics
Description: Tides result from the interplay of the (opposite) gravitational forces exerted on the earth by the sun and the moon.
"Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the earth."
| שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, הטבע, 2. הטבע כמערכת |
| להשאיר תגובה | |
Anita Kelleher
Field of reference: Interdisciplinary
Description: As the natural system approaches collapse it is sensitive and responds to small catalysts of change.
"As a way of understanding elements of the Megacrisis, it can produce useful insights but as a means of defining the Megacrisis a complex systems map might provide a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of these elements and a means to better appreciate the complexity. As Laszlo emphasizes: 'the doomsday arguments [Decline to Disaster scenario] miss a basic point: they do not recognize that humanity is also a dynamic system capable of rapid transformation. As the natural system approaches collapse it is sensitive and responds to small catalysts of change' (2008, p.15).
These small catalysts of change were described in the Tao Te Ching, as 'the ripple effect' (Heider, 1985, p.107). One small pebble dropped into a pond creates multiple ripples. One person can influence a family; one family a community; one community a nation; one nation a world. Lorenz used the term 'butterfly effect' whereby a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world and creates a tsunami elsewhere (Hilborn, 2004). The dropped pebble or the flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, creating a chain of events leading to large-scale alterations. A non-linear systems map would endeavour to identify where to drop the pebbles."
| שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, הטבע, 2. הטבע כמערכת |
| להשאיר תגובה | |
Science Clarified - Gaia Hypothesis
Field of reference: Biology, Physics, Interdisciplinary
Description: Earth's biological, physical, and chemical components or major parts regularly interact with and mutually affect one another.
"Although the Gaia hypothesis is still very controversial and has not been established scientifically (by being tested and proven quantitatively), it has already shown us the valuable notion of just how interdependent everything is on Earth. We now recognize that Earth's biological, physical, and chemical components or major parts regularly interact with and mutually affect one another, whether by accident or on purpose. Finally, it places great emphasis on what promises to be the planet's greatest future problem—the quality of Earth's environment and the role humans will play in Earth's destiny."
| שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, הטבע, 2. הטבע כמערכת |
| להשאיר תגובה | |
Science Clarified - Gaia Hypothesis
Field of reference: Biology, Physics, Interdisciplinary
Description: Earth's geophysiology depend on its systems working in harmony..
"The main idea behind the Gaia hypothesis can be both simple and complex. Often, several similar examples or analogies concerning the bodies of living organisms are used to make the Gaia concept easier to understand. One of these states that we could visualize Earth's rain forests as the lungs of the planet since they exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. Earth's atmosphere could be thought of as its respiratory system, and its streams of moving water and larger rivers like its circulatory system, since they bring in clean water and flush out the system. Some say that the planet actually "breathes" because it contracts and expands with the Moon's gravitational pull, and the seasonal changes we all experience are said to reflect our own rhythmic bodily cycles.Many of these analogies are useful in trying to explain the general idea behind the Gaia hypothesis, although they should not be taken literally. Lovelock, however, has stated that Earth is very much like the human body in that both can be viewed as a system of interacting components. He argues that just as our bodies are made up of billions of cells working together as a single living being, so too are the billions of different lifeforms on Earth working together (although unconsciously) to form a single, living "superorganism." Further, just as the processes or physiology of our bodies has its major systems (such as the nervous system, circulatory system, respiratory system, etc.), so, says Lovelock, Earth has its own "geophysiology." This geophysiology is made up of four main components: atmosphere (air), biosphere (all lifeforms), geosphere (soil and rock), and hydrosphere (water). Finally, just as our own physiological health depends on all of our systems being in good working condition and, above all, working together well, so, too, does Earth's geophysiology depend on its systems working in harmony."
| שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, הטבע, 2. הטבע כמערכת |
| להשאיר תגובה | |
Science Clarified - Gaia Hypothesis
Field of reference: Interdisciplinary, Ecology, Biology
Description: The simplest of bacteria formed symbiotic relationships—relationships that benefitted both organisms.
"Cooperation over competition
Lovelock was supported in his hypothesis by American microbiologist Lynn Margulis (1918– ) who became his principal collaborator. Margulis not only provided support, but she brought her own scientific ability and achievements to the Gaia hypothesis. In her 1981 book, Symbiosis in Cell Evolution , Margulis had put forth the then-unheard of theory that life as we know it today evolved more from cooperation than from competition. She argued that the cellular ancestors of today's plants and animals were groups of primitive, formless bacteria cells called prokaryotes (pronounced pro-KAR-ee-oats). She stated that these simplest of bacteria formed symbiotic relationships—relationships that benefitted both organisms—which eventually led to the evolution of new lifeforms. Her theory is called endosymbiosis (pronounced en-doe-sim-bye-O-sis) and is based on the fact that bacteria routinely take and transfer bits of genetic material from each other.
Margulis then argued that simple bacteria eventually evolved into more complex eukaryotic (pronounced you-kar-ee-AH-tik) cells or cells with a nucleus. These types of cells form the basic structure of plants and animals. Her then-radical but now-accepted idea was that life evolved more out of cooperation (which is what symbiosis is all about) than it did out of competition (in which only the strong survive and reproduce). The simple prokaryotes did this by getting together and forming symbiotic groups or systems that increased their chances of survival. According to Margulis then, symbiosis, or the way different organisms adapt to living together to the benefit of each, was the major mechanism for change on Earth.
Most scientists now agree with her thesis that oxygen-using bacteria joined together with fermenting bacteria to form the basis of a type of new cell that eventually evolved into complex eukaryotes. For the Gaia hypothesis, the Margulis concept of symbiosis has proven to be a useful explanatory tool. Since it explains the origin and the evolution of life on Earth (by stating that symbiosis is the mechanism of change), it applies also to what continues to happen as the process of evolution goes on and on."
| שייך לנושאים: 1-13 - חינוך אינטגרלי, -מקורות מדעיים, הטבע, 2. הטבע כמערכת |
| להשאיר תגובה | |