Evolutionary economics of cacti and man

Jun 1
07:16

2011

Ranganathan

Ranganathan

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Are you a cactus? Cactus has a reason to be a cactus. How this question should be understood? How its inner meaning be perceived? How the question be answered?

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Are you a cactus?  Cactus has a reason to be a cactus.  How this question should be understood? How its inner meaning be perceived? How the question be answered?

The above phrase has been used to describe the idiosyncrasy of certain people who are very parsimonious despite having so much of wealth.  Even for the very basic survival needs,Evolutionary economics of cacti and man Articles these people hate to spend their money. They love to live like a pauper. Why they are so?  Do any organism is as miser as man in nature?

If one look at the cactus plant carefully, can learn the evolution of parsimonious behaviour better.  Cacti, plural of cactus, have adapted to live in a very dry habitat where absolutely no water is available.  Hence, the cacti have started to accumulate water as much as possible within them and learned not spend even a drop of water unnecessarily. The cacti (xerophytes) have a biological reason to be cost conscious about water as they neither get water easily nor can afford to loss it.  Xerophytes do not have leaves and hence transpiration induced water loss do not happen in them.  They have very sharp, pricking thorns around them.  The thorn offers additional protection.  The cacti plant is very succulent and juicy.   

The xerophytes although hold lots of water, can’t afford to loose them as the habitat in which they live is absolutely dry. 

Contrary to this, the water plants have stomata in the upper surface of the leaves to facilitate speedy transpiration of water as they live in water. 

In nature, none of the organisms except man have ever evolved as ‘parsimonious’ even when the resource is available in plenty.  All other organisms except man judiciously utilize the resource, make right contributions to the nature and co-exist in harmony with nature.  Only one species on earth- the man alone exhibits paradoxical characteristics.  Most men live with poverty fear and they cannot accept or appreciate the richness of the nature or the richness they have within them.  The fear of becoming poor or fears of loosing the wealth only control the mind of the man.  That is why he/she is very shy in spending even a penny despite having so much.

The question is why man behaves so strangely?  Man exhibits a bizarre behaviour and he behave as ‘cacti’ in aquatic habitat & as a water plant in desert.  Yes, neither man nor any other organisms in nature or even nature itself cannot predict or define man and his behaviour.  That is man, the product of great evolutionary error of nature.

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