3 ms·

Have you ever seen the famous quote from Herb Simon? Suppose that it (the visitor I'll avoid the question of its sex) approaches the Earth from space, equipped

Have you ever seen the famous quote from Herb Simon? Suppose that it (the visitor I'll avoid the question of its sex) approaches the Earth from space, equipped with a telescope that reveals social structures. The firms reveal themselves, say, as solid green areas with faint interior contours marking out divisions and departments. Market transactions show as red lines connecting firms, forming a network in the spaces between them. Within firms (and perhaps even between them) the approaching visitor also sees pale blue lines, the lines of authority connecting bosses with various levels of workers. As our visitor looked more carefully at the scene beneath, it might see one of the green masses divide, as a firm divested itself of one of its divisions. Or it might see one green object gobble up another. At this distance, the departing golden parachutes would probably not be visible. No matter whether our visitor approached the United States or the Soviet Union, urban China or the European Community, the greater part of the space below it would be within the green areas, for almost all of the inhabitants would be employees, hence inside the firm boundaries. Organizations would be the dominant feature of the landscape. A message sent back home, describing the scene, would speak of "large green areas interconnected by red lines." It would not likely speak of "a network of red lines connecting green spots.

Balgair 12y ago
I'm going through a review of MCDBio right now in prep for grad school (surprisingly, I actually enjoy the MCAT Bio book, as it is a good and quick review for non-bio peeps). This description is incredibly similar to that of a cell tissue, intentionally I think. From above, we see membranes and cell walls, areas that are cordoned off from another. They have internal chemistry that is separate and free inside them. Interactions between cells are controlled and directed, as in a synapse. Everything is in thermodynamic chaos, yet the membranes keep it separated and then structure can be seen. The boundaries, instead of limiting growth, provide a basis and framework for it to occur. As I am on travel, I can see this in more than one facet of life. The boundaries between France and Switzerland are like membranes. The boundary between the ocean, shore, and sky at the tidal zone is most interesting. Where things mix, where the differences occur, then you have dynamism. You need the gradients. How to apply this to capitalism? Well the Valley sure is. You have boundaries everywhere there. There are cells (startups) all over. And you also get a sense they are prokaryotic (no nucleus) and have a strong cell wall, not just a membrane (stealth mode). The trick you get into is how the signaling between bound areas works. The signaling provides the goal, so to speak. With neurons, you signal in certain ways and to certain other cells to provide a way to have the organism process information and survive better. The France-Swiss border signals are there to make sure war doesn't break out, diseases are semi-contained, politics are separated, etc. The tidal border is natural, but gives a flow of chemicals, elements, and solar radiation that gives life a easier time to survive in. So, you need bound areas (companies, cells, tidal zones, etc) that are self consistent internally. The signaling from there is goal directed (profit, mitosis or homeostasis, chemical gradient producing, etc).

Balgair 12y ago

I'm going through a review of MCDBio right now in prep for grad school (surprisingly, I actually enjoy the MCAT Bio book, as it is a good and quick review for non-bio peeps). This description is incredibly similar to that of a cell tissue, intentionally I think. From above, we see membranes and cell walls, areas that are cordoned off from another. They have internal chemistry that is separate and free inside them. Interactions between cells are controlled and directed, as in a synapse. Everything is in thermodynamic chaos, yet the membranes keep it separated and then structure can be seen. The boundaries, instead of limiting growth, provide a basis and framework for it to occur. As I am on travel, I can see this in more than one facet of life. The boundaries between France and Switzerland are like membranes. The boundary between the ocean, shore, and sky at the tidal zone is most interesting. Where things mix, where the differences occur, then you have dynamism. You need the gradients. How to apply this to capitalism? Well the Valley sure is. You have boundaries everywhere there. There are cells (startups) all over. And you also get a sense they are prokaryotic (no nucleus) and have a strong cell wall, not just a membrane (stealth mode). The trick you get into is how the signaling between bound areas works. The signaling provides the goal, so to speak. With neurons, you signal in certain ways and to certain other cells to provide a way to have the organism process information and survive better. The France-Swiss border signals are there to make sure war doesn't break out, diseases are semi-contained, politics are separated, etc. The tidal border is natural, but gives a flow of chemicals, elements, and solar radiation that gives life a easier time to survive in. So, you need bound areas (companies, cells, tidal zones, etc) that are self consistent internally. The signaling from there is goal directed (profit, mitosis or homeostasis, chemical gradient producing, etc).