The Black Box Model and The Ethics of Permaculture

The Black box model is the most familiar concept for many engineers to understand the basics of input / output for a system. As a chemical engineer, I depend more and more on this model to understand the fundamental of a problem and either I start with it or end with it, to get the complete picture.

For many too, it is a useful tool to understand the state we are in, as this is a simple tool which can be used.

In the above depicted concept, if we see, if the output is equal in quality and quantity to the input, then the system will be in equilibrium, which means, balanced. If not, the balance will move towards right. Slowly, the input quantity comes down and eventually there will not be any input. Also, along with output, if the discharges and emissions are more in polluted form, then the system is intending to do more damage than benefit. Now, if there are byproducts which can be used as inputs to other systems that will help.

So, this kind of systemic thinking when applied to a human being, it gives a wonderful opportunity to understand the society better, in my limited view. Are the acts / deeds of me as an individual causing system to move more towards left or keeping it in equilibrium is something that I need to start assessing. While doing so, we have to understand the totality, or the total benefit sometimes. Here, the exapanded outlook helps.

If I am self centric and working only for myself, the system is going to move much faster to the left and become unsustainable. If we start expanding, and our output is becoming quality input and we have discharges and emissions useful for other systems too, then we are keeping the total system, called universe, in balance.

Now, put a city in the place of System, and start looking at the picture and we see that a city is an unsustainable one and rapidly moving towards destruction unless there is a corrective mechanism. The system called City, takes more input rather than giving little amount of quality output useful, and also gives out more pollution. As humans, we depend more and more on the market, so we are fast consuming our resources, depleting the input.  There is no good optimistic outlook for the future if we continue to do so.

There is another law, which says, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The system, called nature, knows how to correct and keeps nudging itself to the right. But when the nudging is not enough, it shoves it and that’s when larger impacts happen in the form of correction. Anyone who thinks it is illogical, is underestimating the natural forces based on which this so called law was derived.

Before “shove comes to push”, every individual has to assess in the same way to see what can we do to make the output more meaningful and there is minimal pollution. This is possible in only one way. THINK RIGHT. THINK PERMACULTURE.

When someone starts Permaculture reading, it appears more and more focused on agriculture. Ofcourse, that’s where our dependence is, FOOD. But, the more and more we dig deep, we start looking at it much broadly than this particular area. Now, if I apply the Ethics of Permaculture to the system concept, It just fits in like a nice glove on the hand.

Snug Fit.

The ethics say – Earth care, People care and Shared Need. Now, when we apply these three, on the black box and start to imagine ourselves as the black box, the question that pops up without any much logical thinking is: IS OUR INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM MORE AND MORE LEFT LEANING?

Let us start working towards making our own self driven system a balanced one as much as we can. Dig Deep in to our bodily actions and thought processes !

THINK LIFE! THINK PERMACULTURE!!