Physics & Biophysics Summer 2017 - Sarah Jystad

Living Systems What is a living system & how do I know I am one? To sum it up simply, I know because of my autopoeisis. My body regenerates itself as an established mature organism. When I was conceived, my DNA laid the foundation for my cellular structure & function and ultimately my whole body, all of its organ systems. Now my mind and body work together to thrive and survive in this biosphere. I respond to the environment & adapt to changes, I maintain my health with food and water of good quality & adequate rest. My body heals itself with these supplies and energy, and my mind doesn't need to be conscious of it. However, my mind can promote healing. If I feed my mental energy into a positive mindset then I stay healthy consistently and heal more readily from injuries and illness. In this way, I am also autopoeitc. I can also see that my perspective and focus can help me produce myself. In other words, to a large extant, I have the ability to create myself and ...

Newton’s Three Laws and me 1st Law of Motion Objects in rest tend to stay at rest & objects in motion tend to stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I totally take this realization for granted because it seems like common sense. And now after learning about quantum physics, it seems like it excludes a lot of factors. 2nd Law of Motion Force equals mass x acceleration & Acceleration equals force divided by mass. This makes sense to me. But I don’t feel inspired to elaborate on it a lot.   3rd Law of Motion For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You can see this applies in a big way to the physical world, but it doesn’t apply to the world of relationship dynamics or human psychology.  Our “Energy Efficient” Culture The American Culture is undoubtedly wasteful. It's based on excessive consumption & convenience. There’s energy wasted on every level of industrial production and capitalist systems. It’s really u...

Chaos theory: the qualitative study of unstable aperiodic behavior in deterministic nonlinear dynamical systems “Organized Chaos, does this sound familiar?” In the most general sense, one could compare “organized chaos” to living systems: if you picture a living system and its external environment as one web-like entity, you could see that they are inter-dependent and interrelate on every level. Essentially, a living system requires organization and structure; whereas, nature is chaos. You cannot measure a coastline since it is always changing, but a fish has a specific physical structure with a particular input (food) and output (excrement). Fish require a water environment and, in fact, need the chaotic aspect of water: currents and the water cycle, for instance, in order to survive as well. I really like how Nina put it in her blog: we are also examples of organized chaos as we learn to heal and recover from chaotic experiences in life. Her thoughts showed me another lens to loo...

Are all vibrations good? I think there are "good" & "bad" vibrations. Good vibrations: harmonious music, sounds waves that promotes tissue healing & relaxation, Tui Na hand movements that move Qi and invigorate Blood, an ambiance that feels welcoming & comfortable has a "good vibe," and people can emanate positive & pleasant "vibes" that make it easy and enjoyable for other people to interact with them Bad vibrations: destructive structural resonance, electro-magnetic pollution makes some sensitive people sick, people in a bad mood, on harmful drugs or not in consensual reality can give off bad vibes, for sure. Resonance in My World It's possible to experience resonance in an intuitive way and in a physical way. I'll feel myself sit or stand up tall with a relaxed chest and shoulders in environments and with people that are positive and open people. In contrast, I'll feel contracted and tense in scenarios tha...

THE (A)SYMMETRICAL WORLD "It's a wiggly world." - Alan Watts The only constant in the universe is Change, right? But in order for anything to exist, there needs to be a reliable, symmetrical structure with which atoms and energy can come together. This we could call symmetry and super symmetry. One of the things about symmetry is that it has the potential to stay still, so to speak. The structure of a snowflake is perfect, and there's no need for movement for it to exist. Gravity just acts upon it. The Water molecule, in contrast, has a natural polarity between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms that inherently allow movement. So the natural imbalance enlists activity, if you will imagine, and is the perfect analogy for Change. We have Sacred Geometry established as the foundation of life: the Golden ratio and the Flower of Life are two great examples of this. The Golden Ratio is (almost) subconsciously used the DNA of trees, flowering plants, human, and can be even b...

 How has e=mc2 affected you? It helps me look at matter as slowly moving energy, which is useful when thinking about Qi. It also reminds me how the frequency of Vibration of atoms determines states of matter: liquid, gas, or solid. The equation also reminds me we're made out of particles and elements created by ancient exploded stars, and that we all share the same origin of creation - the Big Bang, which makes me feel more connected to people and the environment.  How would you compare the four “forces”? These 4 forces hold the world together and allow it to function and exist. Strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force allow materials to interact chemically by way of electrons. Electromagnetic forces help object interact in a field of attraction and repulsion. Gravity brings everything into relationship of attraction and holding.  What is the function of gravity? Gravity's function is Attraction, but just enough so that moons and planets can orbit arou...