Chapter
Organisms as Active Modifiers of their Environment
38:05 - 43:20 (05:15)
Organisms are not just passive beings that adapt to their environment, they are active modifiers of it, creating feedback loops that shape their lives and habitats. This applies to all organisms, from earthworms to humans, as they shape and are shaped by their environments.
Clips
Every organism on earth is a niche constructor, meaning that they are agents of their own change, modifying themselves, each other, and their environment.
38:05 - 39:40 (01:35)
Summary
Every organism on earth is a niche constructor, meaning that they are agents of their own change, modifying themselves, each other, and their environment. Humans, in particular, are cultural niche constructors, living in worlds that are also cultural.
ChapterOrganisms as Active Modifiers of their Environment
Episode#598: Primatologist Isabel Behncke on Play, Sexual Selection, and Lessons from Following Bonobos for 3,000 Kilometers in the Jungles of Congo
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The idea of cultural niche construction combines elements of mathematical complexity theory and survival value of certain traits.
39:41 - 41:24 (01:43)
Summary
The idea of cultural niche construction combines elements of mathematical complexity theory and survival value of certain traits. Researchers and scientists like John Odlin Smee, Kevin Leyland, and David Krakauer have investigated this intersection.
ChapterOrganisms as Active Modifiers of their Environment
Episode#598: Primatologist Isabel Behncke on Play, Sexual Selection, and Lessons from Following Bonobos for 3,000 Kilometers in the Jungles of Congo
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The interconnectedness of nature and feedback loops exist from the earthworm to large herbivores like hippopotami, and trying to evaluate how all the feedback loops might interact requires mathematics.
41:24 - 43:20 (01:55)
Summary
The interconnectedness of nature and feedback loops exist from the earthworm to large herbivores like hippopotami, and trying to evaluate how all the feedback loops might interact requires mathematics. Roughly speaking, there are hundreds and thousands and millions of feedback loops, enough to fill a small stadium of around 10,000 to 60,000.