ANALOGIES BETWEEN NATURE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Dr. phil. nat. Andreas MoserBiologist and Producer of “Netz” SF DRS

contents today

• the matter of fact• defining the terms• about analogies• growth and its regulation• why social?• universal and specific languages in nature• interdependent networks• palaeolithic energy balance• the little big difference• conclusion: 7 facts for learning from nature

the fact of reality

matter of fact

everything that matters, is connected to matter virtual systems will always end in systems of reality

characteristics of entrepreneurshipa maximum for a minimumgoal of business = maximum profits onminimal of investments and costs

but: • what is real profit?• what is profit in the course of time? what is sustainability?• how many factors are involved?• what is entrepreneurship?• who directs enterprises?• who holds the directors responsible?• who directs directors?• what controls directors?• who is directing nature?• trials to direct nature is a purely human attitude

analogies in natural evolution and human economy

analogies in natural evolution

and human economy I

why the hell on land?

• what motivates a fish to step on land?

• what motivates a mammal to become a fish-like being (dolphin)?

analogies in natural evolution

and human economy IIthe step of organisms from sea to land and vice versa.

analogies in natural evolution and

human economy III

the engine of competition

competition is the motor for diversity

• intraspecific competition

• interspecific competition

analogies in natural evolution and

human economy IV

arms race for exclusivity competition leads to diversification (specialisation): every individual or species which can benefit from something from which other competitors can’t, obtains an advantage for survival (advantage of exclusivity = (temporary) advantage of the ecological niche).

analogies in natural evolution and

human economy V

big makes lazy

if there are few competitors only (either by to much exclusivity in an ecological niche or by eliminating all other competitors) pressure for “innovations” decreases = loss of diversification = loss of adaptation capacity for changing conditions.

analogies in natural evolution and

human economy VI

any power can stop diversification

if one player gains to much power and eliminates all competitors, drive of evolution may slow down.

however very soon, diversification from the original strain will set in, driven by spontaneous mutations and/or changing environmental factors.

regulation of growth in nature I

“trees don’t grow into the sky”

individual lifespan is genetically determined: repair capacities of cells decrease with age.

regulation of growth in nature II

growth limited

growth and power of individuals, populations or species are limited on several levels:

• individual life span• diseases and parasites• own adaptive capacities towards environmental

challenge• resources of nutrition• competitors for resources• predators• social mechanisms and behaviour

regulation of growth in nature III

• birth control in a wolf community

regulation of growth in nature IV

• regulation of population density in royal eagles

regulation of growth in nature V

first escape is no escape many human populations have escaped first level growth limitations since 150 years = (biologically to) high population density

• regulation by disease and parasites: modern hygiene and medicine

• overcharge of ecological carrier capacity possible through effective modern agriculture and modern technics of transport for goods

regulation of growth in nature VI

unsustainable mankind(biologically) human overpopulation will triggernext natural population control levels:

• destruction of the environment (e.g. desertification, manmade global warming)

• overexploitation of resources• struggling for last resources• new diseases and epidemics• competition for space• social stress and conflicts

regulation of growth in nature VI

• sopcial impact to the rabbit immune system

regulation of growth in nature VII

• population cycles in voles

social organisation in nature: an overview I

why social?

social organisation increases survival and/or reproduction success of individuals, populations and species in the intraspecific and/or interspecific competition

social organisation in nature: an overview II

anonymous societies anonymous, genetically determined and ruled societies: e.g. social insects

social organisation in nature: an overview III• the ant state

social organisation in nature: an overview IV• the hornet state

social organisation in nature: an overview V

conflicts to avoid conflictsindividual societies: hierarchies to avoid permanent conflicts and to increase efficiency of group actions

social organisation in nature: an overview VI• wolf behaviour

social organisation in nature: an overview VII• chimpanzee behaviour

social organisation in nature: an overview Igenius of simplicity

DNA: the 4 bases of the universal language of life• undirected• self-preserving and sustainable• non-individually oriented

Details of DNA see

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

social organisation in nature: an overview IIcomplexity beyond imagination

any living creature, from monocellular organisms to the blue whale (the biggest creature, that ever existed), during the last 600 million years, since the beginning of the evolution of life on earth, is encoded in DNA and is connected through a unimaginable network throughout time back to the origins.

this means: the construction plan of a blue whale of 120 tons is written in the same language as the plan of the most primitive microscopic monocellular algae.

and: the principle of this language has persisted for more than 600 million years.

such complexity of the history of life on earth exceeds possibilities of scientific reconstruction and imagination and leads into the field of philosophy.

social organisation in nature: an overview IIIthe sense of sense organs

specific languages for species and individuals.

channels and carriers for communication:• “ears” – sound• eyes – view• “nose” – smell• “tongue” – taste• tactile sense – touch and pressure• thermic organs – temperature• static organ – magnetic field• unknown organs – unknown impressions• brain – association and virtualisation

social organisation in nature: an overview IV• sound: cricket; gesture: fiddler crab; : fish, spiders smell: butterfly; visual:

coral fish; tactile

social organisation in nature: an overview IV

everything is communication –communication is everything

in nature, any form of life being is communication:• any action or non action, intended or not,

means something to an alert receiver of information.

interdependent networks: differences between nature

and economy

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy I

maximum benefit from energy

a highly evoluted ecosystem creates a maximum utilization of initial (solar) energy.

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy II

sustainable cycles

a highly evoluted ecosystem maintains maximum long term stability (sustainability) through the interdependent regulatory cycles of its parties on the timeline (helix).

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy III

• life from death

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy IV

nature opposes entropy the helix energy flow of life (“cycle of life”) admitssystems with low level entropy:

creation and growth of an individual on a small scale and biological evolution on a large scale are even processes opposed to consecutive decay – they create higher complexity by integration of energy.

therefore: life is never a state but a cyclic process on the timeline (helix)

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy V

economy enhances entropy

human linear economy: requires input of

external energy (mainly fossil energy) to

keep process in motion.• unidirectional flow with low efficiency• unbalanced energy flows end up with free roaming

energy • free energy disturbs stable natural energy systems (e.g.

global warming)

interdependent networks: differences between nature and economy II

• coral bleaching

principles of nature versus principles of recent economy: human value system leads to unbalanced energy flows

disconnected values

consequences of human monetary system: • if not 1:1 connected: virtual values disturb real

values• virtual monetary systems don’t care about

balanced sustainable energy systems (nature)• disconnection between real value and monetary

value of energy leads to waste of energy

principles of nature versus principles of recent economy: human value system leads to unbalanced energy flows II

man - the atomic hunter

human value system originates in archaic a (palaeolithic) hierarchic social system

members of this society act and behave in a world of modern technologies: palaeolithic hunters are disposing of nuclear weapons.

100 years of “modern” technology, civilisation and society did not wipe out or change basic terms of 1’000’000 years of human life and evolution under natural conditions and biological rules.

ethics: the big difference

little big difference

nature has no consideration of ethics –some humans do:

rules of nature do not consider basic interests of civilized human society

this means: learning from nature in order not to be ruled by nature

the (often misused) nature principle “survival of the fittest” is of limited value for human principles of acting

economy has power and therefore responsibilities (e.g. social peace can become along term commercial value)

learning from nature to survive7 points to learn from nature with proposals for distinctive

emancipation

• respect for complexity I: any virtual system should consider its real base and its complex environment (human resources and partners, environment, consequences for the future, economic incidentals on higher levels etc.). This requires awareness and strict distinction between models and reality

• respect for complexity II or limited predictability of the real world

• definition and acceptance of an ethical code, that includes all parties

• synchronisation of costs and value of energy: aiming at cyclic sustainable energy balances

• accepting and executing control of growth

• overcoming the dinosaur principle: creation of decentralized, autonomous system units. “uniformly big” means powerful but also vulnerable – accepting and keeping diversity = keepthe engine of evolution running (innovation and adaptive capacity)

• consideration of possible errors (implementation of far ranging decisions in reversible steps and regular critical reviews)