The ultimate example of an #EconomyOfScale is nature.
A mature natural system can be extremely productive and cost nothing but the energy to harvest.
#Permaculture teaches how to take advantage of nature's economy of scale.
(I figure, if you want to change the world, appeal to the people that make the world go around, which seems to be economists...🙄)
@Artisan_recycler I am curious to learn more about this. It is my understanding that modern farming practices, while far from perfect or environmentally friendly, have *vastly* increased the food production efficiency over practices from previous centuries.
One thing that I did recently learn about that is an exception is the concept of #maslins, which are mixed-grain fields whose composition dynamically adjusts automatically with both long- and short-term climate variations. The grains that are best adapted to the current climate naturally increase in proportion, but it quickly springs back when climate change reverses direction. It's like a learning algorithm implemented in the form of seeds, which is, frankly, awesome! And it's an ancient technique, not something newly invented.
Genetic variability is big in the permaculture world @hosford42!
Instead of planting 100s of clones of a single tree, like Fuji apples which will always need lots of care, it suggested to plant 1000s of apple seeds, then generally neglect them over several years. Most will die, the rest will be diseased, prone to pest, too small or bad flavored, but a couple trees might have tasty fruit and the perfect genetics do great on your land without any help.
Then you have a unique apple to clone!
@Artisan_recycler When I was a kid, we had half an acre behind our house. I found some dried wild corn cobs my mom had used for decoration and scattered them in the lot. (She probably would've been mad had she known!) I didn't tend them. I just let them grow on their own. I was always fascinated by exactly what you're describing. It was basically a miniature experiment in evolution. I loved the thought of watching the corn adapt generation after generation to the local environment there.
I think about this when I mow the lawn, too. The very same species that might grow wild in the woods outside town grows differently in town because it has adapted to being repetitively mowed by either growing closer to the ground or recovering quickly from the trauma.
I've done a lot of #OpenEndedEvolution software simulations, and I'm a huge fan of #GeneticAlgorithms. All these things fascinate me for similar reasons. Nature and evolution are beautiful and mysterious.
Artisan♻️Recycler
Aaron