This was my last day of work in K404. I spent much of it in my “office” on the porch, because the temperature reached 26 °C on this sunny day.
At mid-morning, I had an amazing meeting with Jannie at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition. In our recent book, my co-authors and I used the metaphor “the economy is society’s metabolism” to interpret the economy through the lens of ecosystems and cellular respiration. Jannie, on the other hand, is a biochemist who writes articles titled “Regulating the cellular economy of supply and demand.” He studies the cell using market economies as inspiration for innovative models of cellular dynamics. We were amazed to find that we draw the same supply-demand graphs, albeit with flipped axes, when discussing the energy sector (me) and cellular metabolism (Jannie). Our one-hour meeting ran for two hours fifteen minutes. He was late to a faculty senate meeting.
I have been wanting to push the metaphor further but had not found the right collaborator. Today, Jannie said “You found the right guy.” It is too early to tell where this might go, but I’m thrilled about the prospects!
I spent a lovely evening with friends Riaan and Jeanne-Marie. Of course, we braaied: kudu boerewors, kebabs, a nice salad, and a cauliflower-rice dish. Then, more goodbyes!
—Matt
