ISBN13: | 9781032832203 |
ISBN10: | 1032832207 |
Binding: | Hardback |
No. of pages: | 186 pages |
Size: | 234x156 mm |
Weight: | 503 g |
Language: | English |
700 |
Natural sciences in general, history of science, philosophy of science
Biology in general
Botany, plant sciences
Agriculture in general
Forestry
Environmental sciences
Geophysics
Agribusiness
Geosciences
Natural sciences
Earth sciences in general
Environmental protection
Environmental sciences in general
Resources
The Benefits of Imperfection
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The cult of performance leads our society to emphasise the values of success and optimisation in all areas. Slowness, redundancy and randomness are therefore negatively perceived. In the face of pessimistic observations and environmental alerts, the author outlines solutions for a future that is viable and reconciled with nature.
The cult of performance leads our society to emphasise the values of success and continuous optimisation in all areas. Slowness, redundancy and randomness are therefore negatively perceived. Olivier Hamant, in his book, reclaims them by his knowledge of biological processes.
What can we learn from life sciences? While some biological mechanisms certainly boast formidable efficiency, recent advances instead highlight the fundamental role of errors, incoherence or slowness in the robustness of living organisms. Should life be considered suboptimal? To what extent could suboptimality become a counter-model to the credo of performance and control in the Anthropocene?
In the face of pessimistic observations and environmental alerts, the author outlines solutions for a future that is viable and reconciled with nature.
Key Features:
- Solidly documents with a grounding in scientific facts focusing on solutions
- Explores a pragmatic way towards robustness, moving the debate beyond performance, technolatry or degrowth
- Responds to eco-anxiety by providing an engaging and viable way forward
1. Preamble, as an executive summary. 2. The Age of Performance. 3. Which Third Way? 4. Suboptimality. 5. Robustness of Life. 6. A Counter-Model. 7. Some Chronological Reference Points. 8. Acronyms and Abbreviations. 9. References.