2010-10-15

Ecosystem Representation by Ink - Part I


Generaion 1


Generation 2


Generation 3


Pattern 1


Pattern 2


Pattern 3


Process Analysis


We can explain ecosystem in two ways. First, it’s a process of circulation, which reflected in the energy flow and material flow. Also, it is an evolutionary process. Basis on the viewpoints of Charles Robert Darwin and Alan Mathison Turing, The result of evolution equals formula add random parameters add environment selection.

I want to use a special method to perform the ecosystem. Suppose I am the nature. Paper, water and salt are the natural element of environment. Ink represents the bio action. The flow of ink follows a certain law of diffusion. I can lead it approximately, but I cannot control his movement pattern. As a part of nature, what I have to do is to choose the best picture of each generation.

In each generation, I have prepared three piece of paper and set the same “environment”(made the paper wet and an angle of 15 degree to ground floor, set a salt river in the middle of the paper), and drop ink in the same way(50cm height from the paper, on the same side of the paper). After I finish all of them, I chose the best one as the “gene” of next generation. So the random pattern in this paper can be delivered to their offspring. And then, I melted all of the paper, re-made them into new paper (or other object) and start the next generation. Recycling of paper represents the energy flow and material flow.

In the second generation, I use the “gene” pattern as the background of the three pieces of new paper. And then set the same scene as last time and drop ink to let them “grow”. After these, I chose the new “genes” again, and use the same method to deliver the information to next generation. After repeat for three generation, we can see the trend of genetic changes. My choice in the experiment is the “natural choice”, although the process is not controllable, through multiple times of choice, the last generation of information is the closest from my ideal, which have some pattern on it (the top, the bottom and the salt-river become more and more different). However, I can only lead a large scale of trend, but not control the details.

Nature controls the earth by ecosystem, man belongs to nature, so the behavior of mankind is a random parameter of ecosystem, and the creation or design by man is also a part of ecosystem. Some of the random actions are ignored and some others are amplified and extended to alter the environment. As long as people add some interference of the existing environment, nature will use his own way to develop and evolve until form a new system. Just like the butterfly effect. For example, if we left a pool of water in the backyard, then there will be mosquitoes, bacteria, green moss and so on to construct a small ecosystem. If we take a glass of water from the ocean and pour them into a river, it may take some marine micro-organisms into the river which could adapt to the new environment and develop into new species.

We can wake an ecosystem, but we cannot change the basic rules of the ecosystem. Our behavior is the random parameters, not the formula itself. We can adjust the micro nature, but the general trend of nature cannot be so.

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