todays practical was confocal
microscopy - looking at the microbial community - the dynamics of species and
their interrelationships - wow - my notes boil down to the idea of chemical
logic - there is a knowledge that a material has a functionality that at some
level is understood - this functionality is used or exploited to explore the
characteristics of that material or another material at a deeper (smaller)
level - knowledge is used to make more knowledge, a form of leverage. I was
struck by the mechanical nature of nature of the natural world.
seen under the microscope the
images were really physical, realisable in the mind as what Science looks like
- this was supported initially when creating the sample to observe by the use
of glass wear, filters and the pipette. I spent a lot of the time in my mind
translating the conversation into my world of cameras, focal length and aperture.
The idea of digital and optical focus, weighing up the various tools to decide
how to observe and measure - size versus detail. When using the 3D software to almost
freeze the material in time it was like diving through space - as ever the idea
of the gaps - the spaces in-between became interesting and that at the smallest
level it always looks like the largest - space and the universe.
I came away with the extraordinary
idea that one could extrapolate the symbiotic activity of algae and bacteria
towards a discussion around and within social science. The behaviour of
microbial ecology could be used as models for human systems of activity - government,
education, the organisation of any activity simple or complex - the art of logistics........
