Dear Nikhil,
As regards ecosystems, some 20% or so of bound energy is retained via
cycling, but the primary function of cycling as conservator is with
limiting elements. Often 70+% of necessary elements are retained via
cycling within the system. This becomes very evident when one regards
coral re
Dear FISers,
I agree with Loet's views (for once! :-) ). The energy flow supporting
the biosphere and society as a whole have not much explanatory power
regarding the bonding complexity of contemporary societies. Of course,
it is an interesting exercise, particularly concerning the limits of
Dear colleagues,
I don’t consider it as fruitful to recycle the argument that society were to be
modeled as a meta-biology. The biological explanation can perhaps explain
behavior of individuals and institutions; but social coordination more
generally involves also the dynamics of expectati
Dear Guy and FIS colleagues,
Thank you for your comments and the copy of your article. Your views on the
roots of biological systems and their evolution in dissipate systems are very
interesting. Your paper reminds me of a paper by Virgo and Froese on how simple
dissipative structures can demons
