Re: MD Patterns

From: David Morey (us@divadeus.freeserve.co.uk)
Date: Sat May 08 2004 - 20:55:15 BST

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    Hi DMB

    Not entirely clear what was being described but interesting
    possibility that nature is much more full of self-organisation and
    activity at the inorganic level than we usually think.
    I think this would take us into seeing more levels within
    the inorganic if it developed.

    regards
    David M

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "David Buchanan" <DBuchanan@ClassicalRadio.org>
    To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
    Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 5:12 PM
    Subject: RE: MD Patterns

    > DM and all:
    >
    > David M wrote:
    > Also it is hard to describe where a river falls into the four levels.
    > It is inorganic I suppose but it is not subject to any self-organising
    > characteristics like a crystal or an organism. There are clear
    > dynamic and contingent aspects to its form, whereas the entities
    > related to the levels focuses on the static forms of atoms, molecules,
    > organisms, social behaviour and ideas. Rivers are as a result of the
    > interaction of inorganic patterns in contingent ways forming a mixed
    > contingency related pattern. Human beings are like this too and also
    > involving more levels. Would you agree with this?
    >
    > dmb replies:
    > Forming a mixed contingency related pattern? This is unclear to me. In any
    > case, I just wanted to respond to the idea that a river "is not subject to
    > any self-organizing characteristics." About ten or twelve years ago, I
    > learned otherwise. A Brit by the name of John Wilkes went out and studied
    > rivers in order to develop naturalistic fountain-like sculptures that he
    > calls "flow forms". He learned some interesting things about rivers and
    > water along the way and presented his findings at a conference that I
    > attended. It seems that rivers DO exhibit some self-organizing
    > characteristics. The middle stages of a river, for example, don't just
    flow
    > along the path of least resistance as a powerless victim of gravity and
    the
    > landscape. (The middle stages of a river refers to that part which is
    > neither the young rushing white water of the mountains nor the old wide
    part
    > that empties into the sea.) Instead, the middle stages "like" to slow down
    > and undulate rather than rush to the sea and they even seem to play a role
    > in carving out a meandering path. Further, the back and forth of the
    flowing
    > water organized the water molecules in some pretty amazing ways. This was
    > the most astonishing aspect of Wilkes' presentation. He projected photos
    > he'd taken through a microscope. The water molecues that had gone through
    > the undulation process were beautiful, bright while the water molecules
    that
    > had NOT been allowed to flow naturally appeared to be tattered, malformed
    > and dead. They then tested these two kinds of water, which were identical
    > except for the undulation process. Both kinds were equally clean,
    oxygenated
    > and all that. They tested it by simply using it to water plants and, you
    > guessed it, the more organized and beautiful form of water grew much
    larger
    > and healthier plaints. Plants don't do studies, look through microscopes
    or
    > attend conferences, but they knew what was better.
    >
    > If anyone is interesting in finding out more about this stuff, I'd suggest
    > starting with a search using "flowform" and "John Wilkes". I doubt if he's
    > the only one looking into such things, but he would get you rolling.
    >
    >
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