Sensing the Water

I use the term core story to represent the story set each of us has inherited and constructed over time about what it means to be human, living and operating in human groups, and the essential agreements we make as humans regarding our behaviors to promote the well-being of individuals and groups simultaneously.  In other words, core stories are stories about our morals that allow us to discern right from wrong, good from bad, in ways that shape the experiences not only of ourselves but also of the groups we inhabit.  As such we find excerpts from core stories in nursery rhymes, school rules, and legal systems for the purpose of promoting behavioral expectations. Core stories highlight the interactive nature of individuals and groups - individual behavior affects the group, and the group affects individual behavior.  Consequently, core stories represent a systems approach to storytelling.  And because the interactive nature of individuals and groups is dynamic over t...

   Fire is the observable light and heat we humans perceive from difficult-to-observe chemical reactions among fuel and oxidants known as combustion.  Combustion results from a sequential process where fuels (like wood, charcoal, or paper) interact with oxidants and heat to become gaseous, expand, and combust into the heat and light we perceive [1].   The simple system of combustion described above is an important part of a complex and adaptive Earth system in which naturally occurring and human-made fires influence and are influenced by climate, atmosphere, water composition, vegetation, topography, wildlife, and human experiences [2].  Indeed, a walk in any forest will reveal what fire has accomplished over eons.   As an essential aid in the evolution of human society within the Earth system, fire is both a necessary ingredient and a constant threat to human existence.  The study of fire - how it forms, spreads, and can be managed – require...