Two of my fav survivors from one of my fav seasons
An old classic: Survivor Amazon. Rob Cesternino thought he had the game locked up, he had the strongest alliance, the side alliances with Butch and Matt. Everything… then Jenna started winning immunity challenges, took the game off balance, and ended up as one of my favorite winners of Survivor. The social dynamics of Survivor continues to interest me and excite me.
Exam season has cut my commitment to the blog, but I’m starting to see this as more of an outlet than anything, so expect some more posts over the next few days. As for this post, I’m re-posting an assignment I submitted for my “iSci” program.
As an avid watcher of the reality game show Survivor I always try to simplify social dynamics to find some underlying laws. Perhaps social science is not best fit to be viewed with a scientific perspective, but it is tough to discount certain patterns. For example, every single challenge won, argument at camp, and member lost, significantly alters the pace of the game. In Survivor, each member must be voted one-by-one until there is a sole survivor. This entire concept of survival permeates the scientific world, and relates to each of our Projects this year.
Looking into universal thermodynamics, after the Big Bang, the universe was considerably homogenous. By simple probabilistic fluctuations of particles, there grew certain over-dense and under-dense regions (Ferreira and Magueijo, 2008). As time progressed, the dense regions became denser, each eventually building up to be characterized as larger galactic clusters today. One small change creates an entirely larger phenomenon overall. Thinking of social interactions, that one chance occurrence can dictate the entire flow of the game.
Taking a perspective from biochemistry, there lies the issue of chirality, where because certain organisms preferred the left-handedness of amino acids, it dominated (Popa, 2009). The handedness was only compatible with itself, so, because they are equally likely. This is useful in astrobiological surveys when attempting to analyze past life, where handedness may have an entirely different signature. However, on our planet, only the one type of chirality dominated and survived.
Perhaps "Survival of the Fittest" isnt as archaic as Darwins aged theories may suggest. Those "fit," more "attractive," etc., always seem to progress further in society. In fact it is an accepted norm!
In the ecological world, the adage by Darwin, “Survival of the Fittest,” is common, and it holds true in many cases of speciation (Rundle and Nosil, 2005). In Survivor, a social game, the winner is able to adapt to their surroundings, manage their competitors, and ensure they keep themselves healthy. A successful species is also one that can adjust to the realized niche within their settings, find a positive source of resources, and reduce the effect of predators.
Taking a stance from an Earth History perspective, when there is an unexplained phenomenon such as how mountains are formed, individuals are quick to form many theories. One by one, they are refuted and analyzed until the one the best serves as a functional theory remains. The parsing through ideas, where research from one idea conflicts with another tightly links with the systematic disposal of individuals in the game of Survivor.
In the quantum mechanical world, one can observe the effects of the Supersymmetry Model, where certain particles have been lost permanently after the Big Bang, paving the way for a subset of particles to dominate. Studies at the LHC have attempted to refind these initial particles and how they have contributed to the evolution of our planet (Konar et al., 2010). In Survivor, the winner is only characterized by those who helped them reach the point, and their status as the Sole Survivor is inherently linked with those who helped them get there, just as we are attempting to rediscover the earliest particles.
Lastly, in neuroscience, our brain functions in a way where we only retain the information needed and is relevant. Memories without linkages and synaptic connections fade away over time, leaving those most important as the surviving memories (Whalley, 2007). In this sense, memories, which characterize us as humans and our personality are tightly linked with a battle of survival on how the basic framework of the brain interacts.
Consequently, those hours I waste watching Survivor has provided me with a perspective that I can apply to science. Perhaps the world is not characterized by competition, but with this web set in my mind, it is easier for me to find real value in many concepts.
References
Ferriera, P.G., & Magueijo, J. (2008). Observing the temperature of the big bang through large scale structure. Physical Review D, 78(6): 061301.
Konar, P., Matchev, K.T., Park, M., Sarangi, G.K. (2010). How to Look for Supersymmetry under the LHC Lamppost. Physical Review Letters, 105(22): 221801.
Popa, R. (2009). Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life. Astrobiology, 9(7): 696.
Rundle, H.D., & Nosil, P. (2005). Ecological Speciation. Ecology Letters, 8: 336-352.
Whalley, K. (2007). Reclaiming lost memories. Nature Review Neuroscience, 8: 407-408.
I’ll follow up with a post on this season of survivor to keep it a bit more recent!
Peace and love! 🙂
Prateek
Infinite Vector 