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What is the Gaia Hypothesis? How is it thought to work? Is it “unscientific“? A brief look at a sometimes controversial theory for making sense of natural systems. Includes some challenging questions designed to make you think. The Gaia Hypothesis or Gaia Theory is a systems view of nature and Earth, developed by James Lovelock in the 1960s and 1970s. It's based on the idea that nature is composed of highly dynamic living and non-living components, interacting via positive and negative feedback mechanisms, which combine to generate natural behaviours and characteristics like homeostasis and novelty. The video explains the Gaia Hypothesis in simple terms, how Lovelock and Watson's Daisyworld model works and how the interacting feedback loops or feedback system work across scales. Suitable for geography students at various levels.
