| For some 2000 years or more civilization has been | | | | "Self-organizing criticality" is an idea proposed by |
| ruled by a paradigm whichwas grounded in the | | | | Brookhaven National |
| Judeo-Christian creation myth. It was reinforced by | | | | Laboratory physicist, Per Bak. His first computer |
| Greekphilosophy, Roman Power, Newton's Mechanics, | | | | model representing self-organizing criticality was of a |
| Darwin's evolution, and Smith'seconomics. In the | | | | pile of sand. As you pour grains of sand on a spot |
| waning two decades of the 20th century a new | | | | itslowly builds into a stable inverted cone. As you |
| scientific andsocial paradigm has been developing that | | | | continue pouring the conebecomes unstable until sand |
| could have the most, deep, fundamentalimpact on | | | | slides and avalanches restore a new larger stable |
| human civilization since man first moved out of the | | | | cone. |
| cave. The oldparadigm placed humans in a purposeful | | | | He showed that biological evolution occured in such |
| universe created by some super normalpower for | | | | bursts. Simple entities formedmore complex systems, |
| the domination and use by man. The new paradigm | | | | which remained stable until internal pressures built up |
| suggests a self-organizing universe in which humanity | | | | andcaused a rapid reorganization. There seems to be |
| is but one of the created interdependentwebs of | | | | a law of nature, self-organizingcriticality, by which |
| being. | | | | new forms come into being. |
| The new paradigm, which I'll call the Gaian paradigm, | | | | 'Autocatalysis,' developed by Stuart Kauffman at the |
| not only has many rootsbut, can be, and is becoming, | | | | Santa Fe Institute isanother concept which provides |
| the underpinning of a new global network of | | | | a theoretical base for the evolution of Gaia. |
| culturesreplacing the now dominant and domineering | | | | Autocatalysis holds that systems of biological entities |
| man-centered Industrial culture. Thenew cultures will, | | | | may promote their own rapidtransition into different |
| like all cultures, be a holistic unified coherence of | | | | forms. Kauffman uses the simple example of the |
| interdependentcomponents. They will result from a | | | | slipperyfooted fly and sticky tongued frog. The |
| deep fundamental transition of our worldview,our | | | | mutation of slippery footedness gave |
| social institutions and our lifestyles. The need for this | | | | noenvironmental advantage to the fly until the |
| transition is being madeobvious by the growing | | | | mutation of the sticky tongued frog. |
| numbers of critics of industrialism. And it is | | | | Only then did Darwin's survival-of-the-fittest come |
| happening,and being made real, in the positive and | | | | into play. Networks of potentialmutations may |
| creative and positive work of organizationslike the | | | | develop and remain dormant until triggered by an |
| E.F. Schumacher society. | | | | environmentalchange or other phenomena that brings |
| The coming of the millennium is providing a unique | | | | on the avalanche of transition. |
| opportunity for the fullfruition of a new Gaian | | | | Autocatalysis, linked with survival of the fittest |
| civilization. There may be a little more than an iota of | | | | explains how complex organs likethe eye, or new |
| truthin the original Biblical definition of Millennium as a | | | | species emerge. |
| catastrophic climax followed bya period of peace, | | | | 'Self-organizing criticality" and "autocatalysis" are |
| harmony and beatitude on Earth. At least the | | | | among the scientificconcepts that show how |
| millennium is beinglooked upon as a time of change. | | | | biological entities self-organize in quantum like leaps |
| Minds are opening to new ideas. People arelooking for | | | | fromsimple cells to linked complex networks of cells, |
| new actions. It is in this spirit of a hopeful deep | | | | organs, plants and animals. Morethan that, physicists |
| fundamentalmillennium transformation of society that | | | | like Lee Smolin and Nobel Laureate Murray Gell-Mann |
| I'd like to talk today. | | | | haveextended self-organizing back to the beginning |
| The New Paradigm | | | | of time at the Big Bang, suggestingthat the same |
| Many basic scientific observations led to this new | | | | principle may apply to the self-organizing of |
| scientific/social paradigm. | | | | fundamental particlesinto atoms, atoms into molecules |
| One was the observation that biological evolution did | | | | and molecules into galaxies, solar systems,planets, |
| not progress as Darwinpredicted by a series or | | | | and life. At the same time economists like Nobel |
| minute changes which led over time to the | | | | Laureate Kenneth Arrow, |
| emergence ofnew species. Rather, biological evolution | | | | Brian Arthur, and Jon Holland have extended the new |
| happened in quantum leaps. Majorbiological changes | | | | paradigm in the otherdirection, to include economics, |
| and new species are created in relatively short | | | | social organization, and human consciousness. |
| periods of timeafter long periods of stability. This | | | | This new scientific/social paradigm suggests that |
| observation was designated by Stephen Jay | | | | people have no superiordivine mandate within a |
| Gould as "punctured equilibrium". | | | | universe created for them. They are not independent |
| Two other observations were linked to become the | | | | of,above or beyond the natural world in which they |
| "Gaia Hypothesis." James | | | | are imbedded. They do have theunique ability to |
| Lovelock, a scientist working for NASA, observed | | | | understand, through science, the laws that govern |
| that the biosphere of the Earth wasradically different | | | | them, toenvision future worlds, and to co-create |
| from all other planets. It stayed amazingly constant, | | | | those future worlds within the laws ofscience. The |
| and withinranges which supported life. Lynn Margulis, a | | | | comming millennium will evolve radically differently |
| microbiologist, at the same time, wasstudying the | | | | fromanthropocentric paradigm which has dominated |
| evolution of micro organisms over the billions of | | | | the past 2000 years. |
| years before animalsappeared on the face of the | | | | Cyberspace and the Networked Universe |
| earth. She found that life forms were interdependent. | | | | "Everything is connected to everthing else" is one |
| Life was able exist on Earth because of a symbiosis | | | | way of stating the Gaian |
| among all life forms. Everythingwas interdependent | | | | Paradigm. It is a fact of science, and is a social |
| with everthing else. Life created its own biome. | | | | mindset. But it is more than those,it is a fact of |
| Lovelock and | | | | technology. "Networking" was identified by John |
| Margulis proposed that the whole earth was a | | | | Naisbit in |
| self-organized, self-supportingecological system At | | | | Megatrends, as one of the major new trends of the |
| the suggestion of a neighbor of Lovelock, William | | | | century. As he saw it, it was asocial and political |
| Golding,athor of Lord of the flies, they termed this | | | | trend. It was made possible by the railroad, the |
| living Earth system Gaia, after the Greek | | | | automobile, thetelegraph, and the telephone, each of |
| Earth goddess. | | | | these technologies made the Earth smallerand put |
| A theoretical understanding of how Gaia, or in fact | | | | people in more rapid and reliable touch with one |
| any system, might self-organize came from other | | | | another. The realquantum jump in networking is only |
| fields of science including mathematics, physics | | | | now before us. Computers and the Internet |
| andparticularly computer science. Chaos and | | | | areproviding a challenge that has hardly been |
| Complexity theories made possible bycomputer | | | | explored. Cyberspace is a globalphenomenon providing |
| modeling have moved science beyond the limits | | | | humanity the oportunity to work globally in real time. |
| imposed by linearmathematics, algebra and calculus. | | | | Thistakes networking well beyond the concept about |
| Study of the transition of order into chaos, orchaos | | | | which Naisbitt wrote only a fewyears ago, or the |
| into order, and the formation of complex systems | | | | concept of transnational networking which was the |
| from simpler ones hasopened a whole new area for | | | | root of theformation of TRANET, the organizaion |
| science. Two particular breakthroughs in the field | | | | with which I've been working since, 1996. |
| arerelevant to the Gaia concepts. | | | | |