Man vs Nature – pointless dilatoriness
One stark difference between systems designed by man and those designed by nature is the efficiency. Natural configurations seem to be operating perfectly in the conditions for which (or should we say, in which) they were designed. They have a strange accuracy about themselves. There is a certain ease in the way things work in a naturally designed system that is in stark contrast to the labored ways of our creations.
Is this true or is this just an illusion? Is the synchronous activity of a bunch of ants working their way through an invisible maze of routes, carrying loads many times their own weight, an illusion? Could they possibly be going through processes and procedures that although appear simplistic to us, present a dilemma so severe to them as to make them feel the “pressure”?
And does this hold true for us too? Would our systems – however stupid and inefficient they might seem to us – appear astonishingly systematic and effortless when observed at a completely different scale? Does a man-made gantry lifting 40 feet containers continuously off docked containerships give the illusion of an effortless activity when observed from a much higher vantage point?
Now wait a minute…I think I am lost here…am I thinking about man-made systems, or systems made up of people and their creations? And why? I think I should worry about this after a nap…nothing’s making any sense right now.
