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This website is dedicated to the development of a Living Systems Model.
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What is a Living System?
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You and I, and the cells from which we are made, are living systems. The lower-level cells that live within us perform the work that carries out our life functions. Many cells live within the structures of higher-level organisms, and some organisms live within an even higher-level superorganism. For example, ants live within an ant colony, where they work together to produce its life functions. Correspondingly, humans live within a nation-state, where they work together to produce its life functions. An ant colony is often thought of as a living system. Is a nation-state also a living system?
Why Produce a Model?
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There is general agreement that to be alive, an entity must maintain its existence by carrying out certain essential life functions. These include such processes as ingestion of raw material, internal distribution, conversion into energy, movement, extrusion of waste, reproduction, etc. It is clear that these life functions are performed within cells and organisms, but how would they be carried out at a superorganism level? Development of a comprehensive model will provide a framework to compare the characteristics of life at three different levels of complexity: cell, organism and superorganism. And this raises a new question: If all living entities must meet the same life function requirements, does this imply that they must all be based on the same inherent architectural design?
How is the Model Portrayed?
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In this presentation, essential qualities of the living systems model are introduced incrementally, as a journey of discovery. New concepts are added step-by-step, building on previous structures and explanations. At this time, the overall model framework is essentially complete, but serious editing, detailed explanations and references are needed. This is still a work-in-process.
Your comments and feedback will be greatly appreciated.
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Profile
The Introduction provides some background on why I undertook this effort, some basic premises, and details of how the presentation is structured.
Ackley Associates
18160 Cottonwood Road #219
Sunriver, Oregon 97707
541-593-5580
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©1995-2010 Ackley Associates Last revised: 2/15/10
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