Autopoiesis, the Pyramid and Man
As written out by Chris Davia (I would love to know if this is true, as I have not confirmed it from my own online research)
There once was a man in the desert and he was building a pyramid. And when the man had nearly finished God came down from heaven and said ‘What are you doing?.’
And the man replied, ‘I’m building a pyramid’.
And God said, ‘No!’.
The man said, ‘I am, I am! There it is! It’s a beautiful pyramid.
And God said, ‘No!’
The man did not understand.
God said, ‘Come, look through my magic window.’
And so the man looked through God’s magic window and he saw a hundred years go by; a thousand years go by, and gradually his pyramid turn to dust.
And God said to the man ‘You haven’t built a pyramid. You have simply started a process that will one day end in a pile of dust.’
So the man went away and wondered how he might satisfy God. He resolved to start all over again, but this time, he would use only the finest materials; - the best wood and the best stone. And so he sent all over the land for the finest of materials from which to build his pyramid.
And when the man had nearly finished God came down from heaven and said, ‘What are you doing?.’
And the man replied, ‘I am building a pyramid’.
And God said, “No!”.
The man said ‘I am - I am! It is a very beautiful pyramid.there it is!’
And God said ‘No!’.
The man did not understand.
And God said ‘Come, Look through my magic window.’
And when the man looked through God’s magic window he saw a thousand years go by - a million years go by, and gradually his pyramid turned to dust.
And God said to the man ‘You haven’t built a pyramid. You have simply started a process that will one day end in a pile of dust.’
And so again the man went away and wondered how he might satisfy God. He thought and he thought and he thought for many years. And then, one day, he realized something that he had never realised before. He realised that the wood from which he had made his pyramid had its own nature. The wood might warp in the wet weather; it might split in the dry weather. He realised that the nature of wood was the nature of wood and the nature of wood had nothing to do with his pyramid.
And the man also realized that the stone from which he had made his pyramid had its own nature. The stone might splinter in the frost and that it might be eroded by the sandstorm. He realised that the nature of stone was the nature of stone and the nature of stone had nothing to do with his pyramid.
And one by one, the man examined each of the materials from which he had built his pyramid and he realised that each had it’s own nature – a nature that had nothing to do with his pyramid.
And he wondered if it were possible to build a pyramid such that each part of the pyramid owed its’ strength and its’ resilience through time as a direct consequence of its’ relationship to the rest of the pyramid. Such a pyramid would exist and persist because it was a pyramid. Such a pyramid would last until the end of time and thus satisfy God.
But, of course, the man had no idea how to build such a pyramid.
Well, many years went by and one day God was looking over his kingdom. And there, in the desert, He noticed a man sitting all alone. The man was sitting quietly, cross-legged in the sand. And God noticed how still and silent and peaceful the man was. And so God came down from heaven and said to the man – ‘What are you doing?’.
And the man replied, ‘I’m building a pyramid.’