This week, I spent a bit more time out and about in nature - touching lots of grass and wandering through lush forestry. There's a fascinating, stunning contrast between the constructed world of man, and what the natural world has.
Nature tends to waste nothing; every organic creature and substance is part of a larger cycle. Everything has an evolved morphology and purpose commensurate with the environment it's in.
Human society is often shaped through higher-order constructs; things like culture, language, economy, technology, etcetera, that microscopic or simple organisms aren't seen prioritizing.
Before microorganisms like fungi evolved to consume trees (during the Carboniferous period), the leading theory is they'd just pile up forever. Nothing to rot them. However, that eventually changed, and the scales balanced. Their atomic priorities: if it does not have a live immune system, try to exploit it.
What's fascinating in this contrast is that we as humans have no such atomic priorities over short time periods; we are complex, multi-cellular, multi-cultural, multi-society creatures. Compelling individuals is less effective than setting a large coordinated goal: "survive and expand", and letting whatever shape is needed take form coldly and efficiently.
We're so early in our evolution as humans, and we have so many goals and concerns. The literal environment. The economy. Progressing technology. Society and the people around us. All of this is amplified far beyond what our primitive simian brains are capable of.
Like those Carboniferous fungi, I do think we simply need to exist long enough in a given context to evolve sophisticated solutions for any given problem. As an example: a lot of power generation...is finding better ways to boil water to generate steam to push turbines.
Thinking about Uber and Uber Black (how it got started) - there's an abundance of Silicon Valley executives and an abundance of sleek black vehicles. A service naturally arose to pair the two - we went from available resource to efficient specificity rather quickly. Apply this process anywhere else.
No matter how complex everything gets, I love being reminded that nature wastes nothing. The scales must be balanced somehow, and this is where people find their nature, their niches, profitable opportunities, and so much more.
Be well,
Michael Kirsanov