Gaia Hypothesis or Big Data in SciFi continued.

We’ve had fun looking at the impact of science on science and tech. With the recent passing of a very popular science fiction actor, we thought this was a good time to look at big data in science fiction. Originally published on our IG feed, this is part of a series on the data science in science fiction.

We’ll start with the Gaia Hypothesis (Wikipedia). As it’s name implies, it’s actually not fiction, but a hypothesis that has not been proven. It might someday be regarded as science fact. (But at the moment close enough to science fiction for government work.)

According to the hypothesis, Earth’s biosphere and other processes form a network of feedback loops that keep Earth in a homeostasis. In some interpretations, Earth is almost a conscious or intelligent entity, acting to remove irritants (humans?) that threaten homeostasis. However, the stabilization or intelligent behavior emerges out of the concerted effort of all of Earth’s organisms and geochemical processes, unconsciously working together. There is some evidence for a vast network of feedback mechanisms on Earth, established over eons.

Some of the more mystical interpretations of Gaia remain controversial, however. Moreover, humans would be a product of such a system. Thus, some might argue that, under extreme interpretations of the hypothesis, humans would need to be more aligned than not in order to survive.

BTW, this is the “Nasa blue marble” photo everyone uses for the Gaia hypothesis. Really. (It’s hard to take a photo of a hypothesis. So everyone uses this instead.)

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