Species in modern science are defined by the type of body and often by their DNA, and they evolve through random mutations and natural selection by the environment. Cracks in this notion of evolution appear when one zooms out to look at ecosystems. An ecosystem is defined by interrelations between species and the study of ecosystems is concerned with their stability. The stability points in an ecosystem are defined collectively and not individually, which means that no individual species can change independently; rather the ecosystem evolves as a whole, and the individual members of the species adapt to the ecosystem changes. This idea about evolution posits that the big things—i.e. the…
Atomic Theory and Social Media
In classical physics, each particle interacts (through force) with every other particle all the time. In quantum theory, some particles interact with some other particles some of the time. This model of interaction can be compared to people on social media—you don’t talk to all the people in the world all the time; you rather make some ‘friends’ and you talk to some of these friends some of the time. Quantum causality works just like people-to-people interaction rather than particle-to-particle interaction. This difference is unintuitive in the context of physics, but quite intuitive if we were to compare these particles to people. This inevitably means that to understand the problem…
Competition and Cooperation
The debate between individualism and collectivism lies at the heart of all modern political debates, but it is obvious that we could not live without both. If everyone acted individualistically, society—which hinges on cooperation—could not exist; there could be no common agreement on social laws that aim for the greater collective good over (sometimes) individual good. If on the other hand we prioritized the collective good over individual good, there would be no incentive in the individuals to act out of their own agency, resulting in the relinquishment of individual responsibilities. What is the right balance between individualism and collectivism? This question hinges on the problem that these two ideas…
