Perspectives on Life's Period and End
Basic Olicognograph: Social Systems Scaled Similarities
Structures have different Scales
Constructions of (from and in) physical world called them here structures (or tentativelly: heterogeneous and diverse neguentropies). Because entropy, there is never definitive stability in any given state. Making that any civilisation can die. Structures have relative different coexisting scales of time, expected average life times, space borders and cores changing along time and transformations. Amounts or quantities vary, transform, have different states or definitions or uses of redefinition of their environmental integration. So looking like stabilities combines resistance, resilience, renewals (above all); as imposed and allowed by openess and reproduction of systems. Be these renewal biological (short time? something like a century of natural conditions) or non biological (non biological earthwise times: ten of thousands of years).
"Complex systems in physics, engineering, biology, economics or finance, have amounts often characterized by the occurence of fat-tailed probability distributions. In many cases there is an asymptotic decay with a power-law. For these types of systems more general versions of statistical mechanics have been developed, in which power laws are effectively derived from maximization principles of more general entropy functions, subject to suitable constraints". Now, what emerge from these physics' quotations is not that we could have found the very right laws of ageing, but that they are naturally contained very soon in complex systems. These and many selected forms from undeterministic world or, unexpectably, are poorly sensitive to manipulations without breaking.
Environments have rates of renewal and resilience that can even be surprising. Say for example fires of prairies or savanahs ecosystems, leaves aroung trees, deserts or mangrove, coral flows or old high trees falling in humid tropical forests are remark sources of life around . Of course here questions are if our anthropic activities preventing to establish processes of renewal. And, in our anthropic activities their limits of these "creative destruction", so revered since 2 decades, until they affected the profits of our poppers addict's (or hard drugs dealers) speculators before "ramshaking" jobs of real economy. Now, it is very probable that if calculated and analyzed in a thermodynamic sense of costs, plenty of "out of date" and obsolescence of human constructions will appear artificial and gains of modernity will not be more than empoverishment.
Functions capturing energetic transformations, involving complex structures in complex biases of environments to "try to fix regularities in humans' interest renewal", catching diversity, producing more of it, reproducing some but overall destroying much. These functions consuming themselves structures (commonly past or declassifed or predated; like for turning sources of energies and of raw materials, involved by and because forces, ex ante expressions of potentials; producing work meanwhile transformations, are almost always with poor rates of energetic efficiency and return.
Processes that can be manipulated by humans, thus in artificial ways, at high energetic cost (or high loss of potential return). Confusing overall sums, often inadverting zero-sum societies; thinking that heat is as good as fever. More probably most anthropic transformations are always energetic negative-sum: heat released in the environments, not well caught by it: most of biopshere is within narrow windows of good for very complicated organisms window, and uncertain trends of anthropic issue: less than 4°C and more than 40°C there are plenty of interesting life, but not in amount (to us between).
So today the arts of infrastructures engineering should consist in manipulations considering the purpose (generally wealth's and ground of humanity) and goals; allowed energetically and materially by Nature in a more or less sustainable way. Expressions of information and knowledge gained on the physical phenomena, often care of what we do and " trees on which we live". Care pass by true Information. True information is present in every parts of nature as structures, maps of distributions and relative configurations or disposal. Be true information matter specified, energetic relations and even complex flows of heat, and so on. Knowledge is in some anthroppological writings, but in our opinion, after all only a tiny part expressing properly the differenciated map of relative distributions of matters and information. Too many speculations, redone and recalled for making us miss, where real information is and how we understanding it: phenomenology of Nature. May be we would like to call most of this information: essential time.
More practically in project some useful speculations, can after all (should better start much) be in Environmental Impact Assessment. Be an EIA a formal process, used to assess projects' potential impacts, on human health and the environment. The purpose of the EIA is to enable decision-makers to consider the environmental impacts and options for minimizing them before deciding whether to proceed with the project.
Exit from Reductions can preserve Simplifications Resources
The revolution of rising (speculative) "rational expectations" accelerated the fake obsolescence of real economy. Producing firms have nevertheless some means to cope with that, like with modular basic parts; practice economics of diversity by delaying as far as possible the specification of the product so thin options can look like different. Sort of technological poshness is in the search of superficialness and not really functional distinctions. Also in the intent to prevent the costs and constitution of stocks; and be in condition to change the models and products as soon as possible, to avoid the need to sell products, already seen obsolete. Wasting disqualifications are contagious. Many cultures lacking of traditions in the modern things be well safelly and savingly done imagine that they need the brightest, before having learned and stay unable absorb changes properly and carefully. Infrastructure as compared to 'modern and smart environments of posh suburbs' underservicing public investments unhelpful to imagine environments. At the opposite many urban places disqualify including their inhabitants so their infrastructural environment and rehabilitations simply replaced them and prevent so any learning of wise management.
As the negative gauge of superior culture, supposedly more adapted can disqualify and turn often expressed as an anomy or antagonism of relationships. Even though it has been shown that it is maintaining strong cultural values, that social groups succeed to incorporate innovations positivelly. And cultures reacting to such disqualifications are judged by the superior neighbor, including under some scope of ethical and moral values, turn nevertheles to disaster and to misery, whatever contrary efforts.
Many programs of requalification by training are more for making their students assume to be off, out and has been of society. Trainings at childish levels and providing contains without sense neither with essential purpose. More for the undervaluing rather than empowering, escalading losses of disworking habits and underscoring the capacity of real knowledge. In complex economical systems, management of times' should balance the sensibility of overall profitability and each links, pieces or elements within the chains or links approach serving all the web of production. Undue qualification of obsolecence wrongly states the decision for change. As a result, when with an anthropic process think always about:
- Incorporation: a phase which consider the openness of system to transformations,
- Transformations: where interactions of sub-systems of transformations can be passive with energies-exergies exchanges, heat production or incorporation, and so on; or somehow active paper, like when catalysis or nonlinear empowerment,
- Normalization of structures and post-transformations adjustements by the products obtained or functions enhanced, developed and advantages taken or inconvenients assumed, by neigboring sub-systems, with relief, cooperation, help and respect,
- Long terms effects eventually emerging and eventually used by existing or new processes established,
- Conjectures up make time sensitive: if you want to catch profits you should look like not disqualifying. There is too a normative effect and the profits made by doing like others. Now, with complexity the paradox is that efforts to catch the meaning of integrative processes are condemned to turn obsolescete even at the same time of achievment, the only intent not condemned to that pressive complexity on comprehensive mechanisms of integration.
Distorsions to Maintain the Renewals of Social Dynamics
Gaps between contributions of theoretical social sciences and corresponding social dynamics seem to increase. These sciences produce amazingly sophisticated theories and models much appreciated by scholars. They present lots of details; phenomena are systematically explored, many "mechanisms" put in evidence. Many subjects of investigation of superficial exotic interest are abundantly offered to the intellectual witness of readers: a tiny public or advanced scholars. Common people may be more or less pleased by the practical effects on their jobs and finances to try to mimic but empoverishing by filling themselves with poorly practical dogmatisms.
Social dynamics of communities seem to do their best contrary to suggest from academics. Academic predictions remain so weak as well as often forced by policies and exogenous projects for gaining subventions or utilities of free wheeling business style. Poor attention is paid to practical conclusions of studies. Many studies, with twisted conclusions, look like disconnected even from investigations that have been made. For example when executive summaries do not take lessons from fields' studies but from wider global studies promoted by international organizations, distorting so national and local developments away from empirical evidence prefering normallity of policies.
Criteria for “wholistic” perspective willing to consider a minimal implementation of process, in democratic way of tasks management, socially directed need to be flexible, and face diversity of problems and details. An integral assessment of the project must prepare, at any stage, to adapt to any aspects of the project. It must also allow to involve as many as possible and organize specific activities, just on time, at the proper social level, without loosing much of the openness. Of course an adaptable minimal structure needs to be understood in essence, perhaps more than in the technicalities. So wholistic perspective suggest to select the:
- Representation of the problem, and the ways to make it common (or shared)
- Quantification of your problem, and the ways to scale each one efficiently,
- Definitions of your activities in time, make a simple-complexe-able schedule, or order them as a PERT’s graph (a kind of graph well known in management),
- Completion of the perspective, like with the application of an olicognograph dedicated to a spatial picture.
- Calling “social” the maximum social unit of the scale that one individual can reach, according a pragmatic cover of complexity.
- Starting a comprehensive perspective, and probably should not go much higher than a community,
- “Intermediating” just as social units (family, groups, etc.), are seen as “instrumental”,
- Significant general social values giving constraints and criteria for more instrumental intermediate levels.
It is more probable that primary economical values should be ethical, before any other laws of economy. Primary values, if not very instrumental, can be harder to put into practice: consciousness and fairness have no easy practice nor easy sustainable economy. Now, to detail each primary values (of the olicognograph attached to this introduction):
- “Individual” is defined with respect to social commitments and, of course, has to be possible. This suggests the other values of “micro-ethics.”. It can be hard to practice and it can cost more to know, if outside, how things are, even if an individual and a good citizen. Meanwhile the inverse defect also exist, the insider and actor blined by his/her own membership to a community for looking at an good solution.
- Many of our resources come from the natural environment (partially transformed). With that, the other pillar of our behavior is “micro-bioeconomy”: how we behave in our microenvironment so as to respect the needs of others and observe precautionary principle in our practice.
- “Social” is economically justified because it is the way to cope with complexity. In our opinion, it has to respect a criterion of “human proximity.” That is why, when observing the “wholistic human nature,” we generally think “communities” as the more practical unit of “assembling.” At higher level of social interest, there are more special common interests. At the maximum, there are humanity and basic ethical values. We often interpret basic ethical values as “wholist-socioeconomy.” Finally, the way to fill it is probably “freedom.” Of course, a kind of freedom given by the society has to have some equity but probably with a sense of diversity to cover complexity.
- The values of “intermediary” are a bit more delicate to set instrumentally intermediate values. This to satisfy difficult multivariate and multi-scaled equilibriums; probably there are many possible maps of equilibrium (as would say Stuart. Kaufmann an american biomathmatician). So, to put first the consciousness, make it instrumental without damaging management of common rules of humanity, as an essence of “micro-ethics,” etc. Second, there is “social mobility” and “individual flexibility,” which are the abilities to do well along vertical social scales (effective practice of human proximity) and horizontally with the means and goals to fill the “wholistic socio-economy” and “micro-ethics” fields.
