Cyclone Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Is it in decline or are we somehow controlling the birth rate though? edit: or is the birth rate being controlled naturally? I don't quite understand what you're trying to ask here. It would be in decline if not for immigration, and that would be because of a lower birth rate, which seems to have changed naturally due to lifestyle changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Knowing intellectually that over population is a problem doesn't translate to individuals changing their behaviour because individually we're selfish. The idea that things are 'designed' is a bad one. Because you'll have to ask who designed it. Wasn't reeeeally using the word in its literal sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I don't quite understand what you're trying to ask here. It would be in decline if not for immigration, and that would be because of a lower birth rate, which seems to have changed naturally due to lifestyle changes. Yeah, I answered my own question later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyclone Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Wasn't reeeeally using the word in its literal sense. In which case it was just shorthand for the system being a self correcting one, is that called homoeostatic feedback or something? (Just checked) and yes it is. A feedback mechanism that tends towards maintaining an equilibrium, ie a population grows too much, famine ensues, the population falls, long term stability is maintained. Of course we've 'cheated' the feedback mechanisms by inventing agriculture and then mechanisation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 In which case it was just shorthand for the system being a self correcting one, is that called homoeostatic feedback or something? (Just checked) and yes it is. A feedback mechanism that tends towards maintaining an equilibrium, ie a population grows too much, famine ensues, the population falls, long term stability is maintained. Of course we've 'cheated' the feedback mechanisms by inventing agriculture and then mechanisation. Yes what you said, nature has a habit of sorting itself, or it did until we intervened, it has most of the answers but we insist on looking elsewhere, we live a pretty artificial life is my view and there's no need to but we're lost in meaningless trivia and easily conned. I can see why they call us a 'race' it's pretty much how we treat living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Heat 'rising up' is not the same as 'travelling north'.... Indeed. 'Travelling North' involves learning a new language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 The sun is not nearer the earth during this time as there is very little change in its orbit. Its the inclination of the earth that changes not distance. Really? The Earth's orbit around the sun is eliptical. An ellipse has 2 focii. At Perihelion (the point at which the Earth is nearest the Sun) the distance between the two is about 91 Million miles. At Aphelion (when the earth is furthest away from the sun - which occurs during Northern hemisphere summer - the Earth is about 95 million miles away. 4 million miles may not seem like much to you, but it's a bit further than I would care to walk. The Earth behaves as (and exhibits all the properties of) a gyroscope. A line through the North and South Poles of the Earth always points in the same direction and that line is at about 23 degrees to the plane of the orbit. (Let's ignore precession and nutation for the purposes of this argument.) At the spring and autumnal equinoxes, that line is perpendicular to the Orbit (the path of the sun follows the ecliptic) and the semi-duration of daylight is 12 hours. The Earth is furthest from the sun in Northern Hemisphere summer (but the alignment of its axis does mean that the Sun's declination is about 23 degrees North) and the Earth is nearest to the sun in Southern Hemisphere summer (when the Sun's declination is about 23 degrees South.) If you want to teach your granny to suck eggs, feel free! But make sure she's not an Alligator (My son was convinced I was a 'Nalligator' - he couldn't manage 'Navigator') first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy Jnr Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Really? The Earth's orbit around the sun is eliptical. An ellipse has 2 focii. At Perihelion (the point at which the Earth is nearest the Sun) the distance between the two is about 91 Million miles. At Aphelion (when the earth is furthest away from the sun - which occurs during Northern hemisphere summer - the Earth is about 95 million miles away. 4 million miles may not seem like much to you, but it's a bit further than I would care to walk. The Earth behaves as (and exhibits all the properties of) a gyroscope. A line through the North and South Poles of the Earth always points in the same direction and that line is at about 23 degrees to the plane of the orbit. (Let's ignore precession and nutation for the purposes of this argument.) At the spring and autumnal equinoxes, that line is perpendicular to the Orbit (the path of the sun follows the ecliptic) and the semi-duration of daylight is 12 hours. The Earth is furthest from the sun in Northern Hemisphere summer (but the alignment of its axis does mean that the Sun's declination is about 23 degrees North) and the Earth is nearest to the sun in Southern Hemisphere summer (when the Sun's declination is about 23 degrees South.) If you want to teach your granny to suck eggs, feel free! But make sure she's not an Alligator (My son was convinced I was a 'Nalligator' - he couldn't manage 'Navigator') first. You know, you coulda' said ' I think you'll find it is' .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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