Monday, November 12, 2007

Repeating Patterns - Universal Biologies

We see patterns in the universe, repeated patterns, that arise from the balance of physical forces, or physical forces working to achieve balance or to regain balance. Why not for biological forces as well - if physical forces control biological forces. The universe finds a way. Stars exist everywhere. They vary in particulars, like species vary in particulars, because of differences in the factors: the formula is the same, but change the values of the factors/variables in the formula and you get different answers - all within a range, because the range of the variables themselves are controlled or influenced by other formulas. The universe is a tapestry of physical laws, of formulas, all interacting together, all striving to find a balance, or steady state. The balance it finds is not a cold, static balance, but one of a repeating pattern (or a mixture of repeating patterns). The universe is hot, energetic. At least for now.

In a sense, stars reproduce in a repeating pattern - when a star dies, it sheds gas and elements into interstellar space, and some of that gas will eventually join other interstellar gas and condense to form another star; the same forces that formed the first star will form the next star: gravity causes the particles to collect together (accretion), forming a larger and larger body, the increasing pressure in the growing body creates heat which tends to push the elements outward, but the gravity counters this, and the star finds an illuminating balance. Patterns exist in this universe, reproducible, repeating patterns. Biology exists in such a universe. Biology is acted upon, lives within, is influence by the physical laws of the universe. And so, maybe, just maybe, biology is a reproducible, repeating pattern.

Maybe physics and mathematics is what describes the particulars, the elements, of the sonnet, and biology is the text, the words, the poetry within the sonnet.

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