Love is a Battleground!

I apologize for the cheesy title. But this last chapter was excellent.

Often we think of relationships between man and woman, or male and female as a mutual effort. That a pair does what is in the best interests of each other to work towards something together. Well according to the bad ass world of genes that's just plain bullshit!

So when it comes to reproduction, cells produced meiotically (half the genes) fuse with other half gened cells to become new organisms. Now a bigger cell would be much more valuable because it would be able to protect and feed this new organism. And therefore would win out genetically over other cells because it could survive and move on the genes better. However, what if there were some really tiny nasty cells that were extremely quick and opportunistic, that say new how to exploit the resources of those larger cells. Wouldn't they be successful eh? Well now we have egg and sperm!

And essentially the male has evolved to exploit the much more valuable female! The thing is though, both want to reproduce and send on their genes, so they need each other. Not because they want to, but because they have to. And in the end each has in a way evolved to exploit the other. Females know that they are more valuable, so they play coy until they can find a male that will not only give sperm, but help raise offspring. And males just want to shoot off in everything that moves, because sperm are extremely expendable. Sound familiar? Well anyway eventually a sort of balance has been struck, but it is a balance of need through conflict. Sounds like a Jane Austin novel right? Different animals balance it in different ways too. But the conflict makes it fascinating.

This gave me some ideas of what harmony truly means in the world as well. And what balance is. Often when people think of balance and harmony, they think of pretty flowers, happiness, world peace, et cetera. I think this is not only boring, but also a misinterpretation. Harmony is a balance of opposing forces, and this can be quite beautiful. And it shows up in things.

For example, musical harmony. Here, different notes clash, but work together in different ways. In a major third for example there is a lot of conflict between the two notes, but it actually ends up sounding nice. Even really dissonant notes in a certain context, when balanced can be beautiful.

Yoga also has some really interesting points in this. For example there are many situations where flexing a muscle, and pulling in will actually help you release other muscles to be more flexible. Because of the strength imposed your muscles now feel comfortable to relax in ways they would not have before. It is a strangely seemingly opposed balance.

This could be a fundamental way in which the world works. True harmony as not a resolution of conflict, but a manifestation of it. As being right in the middle of it. I'm not even close to being prepared to discuss, explain clearly, or back this idea up right now, but I am definitely interested in exploring this pattern further. In many ways it is much more interesting when you feel it and are in the midst of it than if you just explain it. But I still would like to study this more intellectually as well. Just some thoughts. Who knew Dawkins would have me thinking so metaphysically?