I believe the natural order of the world can be seen in more than just nature. As I wrote yesterday, the way that technology products grow and mature is similar to the way living creatures do the same. While they are young they go through rapid growth and changes and then when they mature things go more slowly and they become “boring”.
I think these types of parallels can be found everywhere and can help us to understand and visualize the world around us. The problem is finding the right parallel. For example, I was thinking about the success of Facebook. I don’t believe that Facebook is successful because it solved any technological problem in a better or unique way. I believe it was at the right place at the right time -/m- that the conditions were right for it to succeed and grow. I’m not trying to minimize their accomplishments because a lot of hard work and serious skills went into it, but in a sea of undifferentiated social networks something was different for Facebook.
A couple of days ago I was thinking about potential natural analogies. Was Facebook like a rocket that had the right winds and trajectory to escape gravity? Was it like a fire that had enough energy and resources to catch and burn? Was it like a seed that didn’t get eaten by squirrels, was far enough away from other trees to grow and get sunlight, and grew up tall and strong?
Or was it none of these? Either way, I find it interesting to think about.