In this essay ...
- A question: What is life?
- An answer: metabolism & evolution
- Musings about discomfort w/ change
- Biologist for hire: part 2
_______________
I am first & foremost a biologist.
That means that I study life.
(Bio = life; logy = study.)
The next question is,
What is Life?
That's the crux question not only in this essay,
but for the entire fall term at Euglena,
& indeed, in your own life.
If you aren't sure of the answer,
& even more, if you don't have a clue,
then, IMO, you've missed the point of life.
The point of life is
not merely to survive,
but to understand what life is.
In fact, one could posit that
understanding life may aid survival.
If so, then life is recursive:
it continues by knowing itself.
I'm fascinated with life.
I've spent my life studying life
because I want to understand it deeply.
Further, I'm not just a biologist,
but an evolutionary biologist (& ecologist).
That means that I not only study life,
but also how it evolves.
Evolution means change.
Like Bowie sang,
cha, cha, cha, cha changes.
Biological evolution includes:
- the origins of life as bacteria
- how bacteria became eukaryotes (symbiogenesis)
- the evolution of multi-cellular organisms (symbiogenesis)
(That requires another essay.)
Evolution =change.
Life IS change.
W/o change,
there is no life.
Death = no change in metabolism;
chemical & thermodynamic equilibrium.
Metabolism is the name of
the system of chemical reactions occurring in
a living entity, whether cell, organism, ecosystem or planet.
A relatively new systems principle called autopoiesis
is a new way of thinking about metabolism.
(That, also, is another essay.)
So, let's review.
Biology - the study that attempts to answer the question
"What is Life?" - must address change
in the form of metabolism & evolution.
moved to word shop for editing ... }
So, I've decided to refocus a bit. For the next few months, Euglena
I am working on a menu of options,
to be posted here w/in days ...
_______________
To quote David Bowie:
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes___________
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time
Biologist for hire: part 2
- to teach (& learn) about
metabolism, life & evolution
from a systems/networks perspective - students that relish life & change
(To be posted ... please inquire ... )
Evolution happens.
Buckle up, baby ...
3 comments:
In order to reach out to a larger audience, have you thought about recording these lectures at Cozmic Pizza and creating a podcast or YouTube series touching on the basics of complexity theory, geophysiology, et al? You might be able to point more people towards Euglena and convince some of them to sign on for classes.
Also, what about submitting columns and letters to the Oregon media? You could push to be a weekly columnist on science, the environment and the larger questions created by complexity and chaos? (what can I say, I work in PR and have been pondering how you can get your message to more people)
Benson, thanks for the ideas.
Yes, we are considering some YouTube stuff. A monthly column (to start with) is in the works.
I appreciate your ideas & comments. The book on the Russian weightlifter that you mentioned in your previous comment on my previous post re exercise is very interesting. I'm intrigued by his thesis. I've read all I can on line, & intend to buy the book to explore it further.
A~
Awesome! I'm glad that you liked Pavel's ideas. I hope you can get a lot out of them!
I'm looking forward to your YouTube stuff, I've checked out the video pieces out there for the Global Heating video and have missed your classes when you were teaching our Chaos Theory class at TVI. (That'll take you back about 10 years or so ;) ) It'll be great to catch your lectures again!
For an unsolicited bit of praise, you were one of the best professors I've ever had. And even after 10 years and shifting to a non science job (right now at least) I still look at things through the Mandlebrot colored glasses you gave us so long ago. (Recently my fiancee bought me a DVD course from the Teaching Company on Chaos and I've been getting her hooked into Chaos and Complexity as well). :)
Benson
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