An interesting post from Robert Krulwich at NPR that discusses the concept of an innate/ingrained cycle of life and death that governs many living creatures. The post ‘Nature Has A Formula That Tells Us When It’s Time To Die‘ discusses the work of physicist Geoffrey West:
Everything alive will eventually die, we know that, but now we can read the pattern and see death coming. We have recently learned its logic, which “You can put into mathematics,” says physicist Geoffrey West. It shows up with “extraordinary regularity,” not just in plants, but in all animals, from slugs to giraffes. Death, it seems, is intimately related to size.
The post is pretty intriguing – and the ensuing discussion thread is an entertaining turn into the weeds of the messiness of biological sciences – and the difficultly of shared agreement – but worth perusing. As you dig through, you will inevitably be distracted with these vegetal images of death and rebirth.
Check the article for more – images are from Shanghai photographer & designer Yunfan Tan that show a hypnotic repetition of the cycle of life and death in slow motion. Try it to music – if you can find something at the same tempo – it’s sort of surreal.
(images via NPR – Krulwich Wonders)