tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396571161962287942.post3991955035458432196..comments2024-03-22T08:37:16.132-07:00Comments on Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life: Guest Blog: Newton’s Third Law and Existential Climate Change Felix Doddshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674368107771895857noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-396571161962287942.post-38319128340468157302017-03-02T00:36:28.580-08:002017-03-02T00:36:28.580-08:00Thanks for this.
I fear that any optimism derives ...Thanks for this.<br />I fear that any optimism derives from applying Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately that applies only in the field of physics; in the complex, human, system world the law is more like: for every action there is a reaction of unknown magnitude and in any direction.<br />Perhaps Newton’s three laws for systems motion should be:<br />1. A system will never be at rest or in a state of uniform process, episodic change will always happen, driven by internal and external forces.<br />2. The magnitude of system change is completely undetermined by the scale of the system or the forces acting on it.<br />3. For every action on (or in) a system there is a reaction of unknown magnitude and in any direction, usually the most unexpected.<br /><br />I guess what I mean is: don't expect a reaction to Trumpism to be one that returns things to 'normal' there is no normal.<br /><br />Ian, Schumacher Institute<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16846759938524633200noreply@blogger.com