Punctuated Equilibrium

Punctuated Equilibrium
instead of a slow, continuous movement, evolution tends to be characterized by long periods of virtual standstill ("equilibrium"), "punctuated" by episodes of very fast development of new forms. (Heylighen)
... or so Stephen Jay Gould observed 26 years ago. In Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler makes the analogy of a communist revolution as a series of locks: a slow, almost imperceptible rising of the water, until the gates open and the ship of state sails smoothly into the next lock.I'm no evolutionary biologist or Russian novelist, but I am a free climber, and last night at the rock gym I experienced a bit of puntuated equilibrium all my own: after months of hurling myself at the wall, making progress only at the rate my arms strengthened, I tuned in to what my body was doing as I contorted around those dusty bits of coloured plastic, and realized - I mean realized with my body and mind, not just as an abstract principle but as a physical reality - that the legs are what should move you up the wall, not workplace stress.The gates have opened to the next level of climbing.
posted by tokyoaaron at 4:57 PM 0 comments

Punctuated Equilibrium
instead of a slow, continuous movement, evolution tends to be characterized by long periods of virtual standstill ("equilibrium"), "punctuated" by episodes of very fast development of new forms. (Heylighen)
... or so Stephen Jay Gould observed 26 years ago. In Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler makes the analogy of a communist revolution as a series of locks: a slow, almost imperceptible rising of the water, until the gates open and the ship of state sails smoothly into the next lock.I'm no evolutionary biologist or Russian novelist, but I am a free climber, and last night at the rock gym I experienced a bit of puntuated equilibrium all my own: after months of hurling myself at the wall, making progress only at the rate my arms strengthened, I tuned in to what my body was doing as I contorted around those dusty bits of coloured plastic, and realized - I mean realized with my body and mind, not just as an abstract principle but as a physical reality - that the legs are what should move you up the wall, not workplace stress.The gates have opened to the next level of climbing.
posted by tokyoaaron at 4:57 PM 0 comments

Punctuated Equilibrium
instead of a slow, continuous movement, evolution tends to be characterized by long periods of virtual standstill ("equilibrium"), "punctuated" by episodes of very fast development of new forms. (Heylighen)
... or so Stephen Jay Gould observed 26 years ago. In Darkness at Noon, Arthur Koestler makes the analogy of a communist revolution as a series of locks: a slow, almost imperceptible rising of the water, until the gates open and the ship of state sails smoothly into the next lock.I'm no evolutionary biologist or Russian novelist, but I am a free climber, and last night at the rock gym I experienced a bit of puntuated equilibrium all my own: after months of hurling myself at the wall, making progress only at the rate my arms strengthened, I tuned in to what my body was doing as I contorted around those dusty bits of coloured plastic, and realized - I mean realized with my body and mind, not just as an abstract principle but as a physical reality - that the legs are what should move you up the wall, not workplace stress.The gates have opened to the next level of climbing.

Now, can I get my students to reach the next level of appreciating William Golding's descriptive writing in Lord of the Flies? Back to marking mid-term assignments....