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Systems in Earth Abides In George R. Stewart’s novel Earth Abides, a vivid and highly detailed future of society is painted. After a fast spreading and fast acting disease has all but destroyed civilization, seemingly infecting nothing but humans, only a few survivors are left to live on and determine the future of the human race. But how will the once stable ecosystem of an entire planet react to such a drastic change as …

…numbers. The tribe narrowly averted crossing over a threshold-such a small thing such as a single new person entering the settlement could have had results as drastic as the entire Tribe being wiped out. Systems are very peculiar constructs, as small changes can have large effects, while sometimes large changes barely phase the order of things. A solid understanding of a system is essential when performing actions that may disturb a system’s natural ways.