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ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION #2. “Non-random mutations, epigenetic change (learning) first...The term ‘learning’ is appropriate here in the general sense, if to define learning as an adaptive plastic change...This mechanism can be identified as a Lamarckian theory.” https://lnkd.in/eS_4y_J View in LinkedIn

SWARM COMPLEXITY. “A complex system has a large number of members capable of interacting with each other and adapting to their environment without a leader or a blueprint.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

PRESCIENT. “Charles Darwin conceived of evolution by natural selection without knowing that genes exist. Now mainstream evolutionary theory has come to focus almost exclusively on genetic inheritance and processes that change gene frequencies.” https://lnkd.in/gninbRv View in LinkedIn

“ENERGY is the operating currency of Nature. Ecosystems are the conduits  by which Nature’s energy is transported and transformed. Ecosystems are vehicles for energy flow and energy consumption. They cycle energy and nutrients obtained from external sources.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS snippets from the truly lovely essay by Bill Graham, a passionate and eloquent marine ecologist, on the subject of interconnectivity in nature. Some of the most exciting concepts including swarm behavior, emergence, complexity, information and energy flow, and nested hierarchies apply to this interesting topic. We intuitively know that nature is much more than a mere sum of its parts, but analyzing what that means has been very challenging. We continue next weekend with the conclusion. View in LinkedIn

DYNAMIC LINKED SHELLS. “Nature is composed of an almost infinite number of hierarchal, interconnecting ecosystems.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

POWER LAW. “Consequently, we see a very different distribution of events than what we have been taught in conventional statistics courses where we utilize the Normal distribution portrayed by the bell curve. Instead, we usually see power law relationships.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

DEEP INTERDEPENDENCE. “Simply stated, a system is a collection of objects that somehow interrelate with each other to function as a whole and produce some effect that no single object within the system could do on its own. The configuration of a system’s parts can be physical, logical or statistical.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

THE UNEXPECTED. “Because of the complex interrelationships between entities within a system, ecosystems usually produce large events far more often than would be predicted by conventional statistical analysis.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn

LIFE AS SYSTEMS. “We will never understand life until we deal with life as a collection of systems. While we may not realize it, we encounter and connect with systems every moment of our lives. Our bodies are interconnected, self-maintaining systems. Every person we meet, every organization we work with, every animal, every tree, and every ecosystem is a system.” https://lnkd.in/gA5rxGc View in LinkedIn