presents:
Life is Anti-Entropic
with guest speaker:
Wendi L. Adamek Ph.D.
(Wendi is Associate Professor in the Department of Classics and Religion at the University of Calgary and holder of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies. Her research interests include medieval Chinese Buddhism and living systems theory. Her forthcoming book Practicescapes and the Buddhists of Baoshan centers on a community in Henan, China. Previous publications include The Mystique of Transmission: On an Early Chan History and its Contexts
I began to think in terms of “AntiEntropics” through taking an online permaculture course designed by Geoff Lawton and his team at Daytuna farm in Australia. Lawton was a student of the permaculture pioneer Bill Mollison. A key permaculture design-principle is slowing the energy that flows through a system. Lawton illustrates this by the flow of water, which manifests low life-form diversity and high energy at its alpine source. Water is “high energy” as it moves quickly through many small channels, but there is little life because this energy is not easily captured by life forms. Flow-energy decreases as water consolidates, moves more slowly, and develops the winding patterns of rivers and the collection points of pools and lakes. A low-energy pattern corresponds with increases in organic life and decay inputs, as flows converge and slow into deltas, wetlands, and reefs of immense life-diversity. Energy leaves the relevant system by merging with the open ocean. This is “entropy” from the perspective of the permaculturist, who can no longer capture its flow or cultivate the life-forms that flourish along the edges of its pathways. In this talk, I will discuss analogies between these principles and dynamic practices of self-development and cultural development.
Date and Time:
Saturday August 17, 2019 at 7pm
*Please let us know if you plan on attending as seating is limited.
