The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization
At the time of writing, the CoViD-19 pandemic was in its second wave with infections doubling every several days to two weeks in many parts of the world. Such geometric (or exponential) expansion is the hallmark of unconstrained population growth in all species ranging from submicroscopic viral par...
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The White Horse Press
2020
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oai:doaj.org-article:08c134b7166044d8a0ea53361d8d861d2021-12-02T15:13:09ZThe fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization10.3197/jps.2020.5.1.152398-54882398-5496https://doaj.org/article/08c134b7166044d8a0ea53361d8d861d2020-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.whp-journals.co.uk/JPS/article/view/653https://doaj.org/toc/2398-5488https://doaj.org/toc/2398-5496 At the time of writing, the CoViD-19 pandemic was in its second wave with infections doubling every several days to two weeks in many parts of the world. Such geometric (or exponential) expansion is the hallmark of unconstrained population growth in all species ranging from submicroscopic viral particles through bacteria to whales and humans; this suggests a kind of ‘fractal geometry’ in bio-reproductive patterns. In nature, population outbreaks are invariably reversed by the onset of both endogenous and exogenous negative feedback – reduced fecundity, resource shortages, spatial competition, disease, etc., serve to restore the reference population to below carrying capacity, sometimes by dramatic collapse. H. sapiens is no exception – our species is nearing the peak of a fossil-fueled ~200 year plague-like population outbreak that is beginning to trigger serious manifestations of negative feedback, including climate change and CoViD-19 itself. The human population will decline dramatically; theoretically, we can choose between a chaotic collapse imposed by nature or international cooperation to plan a managed, equitable contraction of the human enterprise. William ReesThe White Horse PressarticlepandemicsCoViD-19SARS-CoV-2fractal geometric growthovershootplagueEnvironmental sciencesGE1-350Demography. Population. Vital eventsHB848-3697ENThe Journal of Population and Sustainability, Vol 5, Iss 1 (2020) |
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pandemics CoViD-19 SARS-CoV-2 fractal geometric growth overshoot plague Environmental sciences GE1-350 Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 |
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pandemics CoViD-19 SARS-CoV-2 fractal geometric growth overshoot plague Environmental sciences GE1-350 Demography. Population. Vital events HB848-3697 William Rees The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| description |
At the time of writing, the CoViD-19 pandemic was in its second wave with infections doubling every several days to two weeks in many parts of the world. Such geometric (or exponential) expansion is the hallmark of unconstrained population growth in all species ranging from submicroscopic viral particles through bacteria to whales and humans; this suggests a kind of ‘fractal geometry’ in bio-reproductive patterns. In nature, population outbreaks are invariably reversed by the onset of both endogenous and exogenous negative feedback – reduced fecundity, resource shortages, spatial competition, disease, etc., serve to restore the reference population to below carrying capacity, sometimes by dramatic collapse. H. sapiens is no exception – our species is nearing the peak of a fossil-fueled ~200 year plague-like population outbreak that is beginning to trigger serious manifestations of negative feedback, including climate change and CoViD-19 itself. The human population will decline dramatically; theoretically, we can choose between a chaotic collapse imposed by nature or international cooperation to plan a managed, equitable contraction of the human enterprise.
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| format |
article |
| author |
William Rees |
| author_facet |
William Rees |
| author_sort |
William Rees |
| title |
The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| title_short |
The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| title_full |
The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| title_fullStr |
The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| title_sort |
fractal biology of plague and the future of civilization |
| publisher |
The White Horse Press |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| url |
https://doaj.org/article/08c134b7166044d8a0ea53361d8d861d |
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AT williamrees thefractalbiologyofplagueandthefutureofcivilization AT williamrees fractalbiologyofplagueandthefutureofcivilization |
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