In my last post I referred to the securities market as a “Natural System,” and I think the way I use that term requires elaboration.
Defined most broadly, a natural system (or organic system) is one in which the individual, uncoordinated efforts of any number of small parts are aggregated so that they use all available resources, and in the most efficient way possible. Organic systems form when there is an abundance of a useful resource.
For example: once upon a time, a couple billion years back, the Earth was a mass of rocky material, water and some gasses. Sunlight shown upon it. This is the entire Earth system, pure potential: sunlight energy goes in and is absorbed by the planet. This abundance of light creates a niche for an organism which can convert light into nutrition: the first photosynthetic cells are born. Eventually these cells become so abundant that they begin competing with one another for the same resources (i.e. they become overpopulated). The cells can respond to this in a number of ways. One is to develop the ability to create nutrition from other cells (other cells have become the new source of abundance), another way is for the cells to organize themselves into a mutually-supportive paradigm, which allows it to convert abundant sunlight more effectively than non-organized cells. To become an organism.
Note the common roots: organic, organize, organism.
Many of you the readers have heard of the theory of evolution, I’m sure. Evolution punishes those who cannot make use of an available resource as well as another organism. You have two options: either use a food resource no other animal can use (giraffes and high leaves, owls and nocturnal mammals), or compete creatively with other organisms for the same food(humans and locusts competing over farm produce).
Evolution is the engine which drives organic systems.
I believe that the “natural system” is a construct from which important lessons about life and nature can be drawn. To be fleshed out later, probably over the course of several months (or years, if I get that far).