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The Nearest Neighbour Interaction
By
Peter Glen
Every time I head to the beach, I cross a bridge over the
intra-coastal
canal. The canal is connected to the ocean, so the canal 's water flow
is heavily influenced by the tide. One afternoon, I pondered, that the
water molecule that is under the bridge right now, how does that water
molecule know which way to go.
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After some time of pondering, I figured out that very
water molecule
does not know which way to go, it only knows about the water molecule
next to it. But that water molecule knows the ones next to it, and so
forth, until it reaches the ocean. Within seconds, I connected the dots
to the water molecules collectively know about the tide, which is
driven by the Moon and Sun, and influenced by planets like Jupiter.
What a grand connectivity. The water molecule under the bridge right
now, knows about Jupiter?
Aside from the obvious religious implications, there is
significant
scientific and social merit in the observation. The fact that we are
all connected, was always an intuitive knowledge. Now the connectivity
has parameters, in the form of "Nearest Neighbor Interaction".
[NNI]
It tells us, that the interaction strength is reversely
proportional
to the distance of the neighbor. In case of the water molecule under
the bridge the neighbouring water molecule had significant impact,
while Jupiter has a miniscule impact on it.
How does this translete to human implications? For one: we
can
comprehend the impact of things. According to the NNI the most impact
on our (human) existance is what closest to us. Namly: what we eat. And
then our environment, our living habitat, and so forth ... Our
psychological well being has also a NNI role. What is closest to is
what we think, and it has the most significant impact. Next in line is
friends and family, mass media, and so on ... By the way ... would you
know who won the last Nobel Prize .. too far?
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