In an effort to define the structures that embody the human experience, I’d modeled a system covering three facets of existence which rule our perceptions of reality.

Biology & Society

My model is structured through three modules which involve:

1. Physical inputs which enable an individual to operate in the realm of
2. A “menu” of societal involvements arranged on the basis of the assembly of a cultural environment, all of which are conditioned on the basis of how an individual shapes his / her
3. Tastes / preferences driven by psychological and neurological processes

In other words, I’ve identified that human existence is modulated by physical inputs which enable individuals to operate in multi-faceted cultural environments that serve as arenas by which individuals have the ability to satisfy their wants and desires driven by the development of their tastes and preferences (defined by the construction of psychological and neurological processes).

Module 1: Physical Inputs

In order for an individual to participate in a broader society, it is necessary for him / her to appropriately modulate his / her health and well-being to optimize the levels of energy required to carry out specific functions he / she bears upon oneself.

The dependencies of the first module include:

• Nutrition
• Metabolic Rate
• Sleep

The aforementioned components contribute to an individual’s ability to exist in a broader cultural environment. A careful analysis on the optimal means by which to extract the highest levels of energy from a minimal amount of resources is required for an individual to maximize his / her contributions to any facet of any cultural environment.

Dependency 1: Nutrition

The primary goal of an optimal nutrition program is enabling the greatest extraction of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from metabolic processes. Human beings derive their primary resource requirements from the following macro nutrients:

• Carbohydrates
• Fats (lipid)
• Protein

In descending order, the aforementioned are metabolized to form:

• Glucose
• Fatty Acids / Glycerol
• Amino Acids

Under optimal circumstance, glucose, fatty acids/glycerol, and amino acids are oxidized for energy, processed through the Krebs cycle which delivers two primary outputs: CO2 & H2O and ATP. The former exist as waste byproducts of the Krebs cycle, exhaled through mammalian systems. The latter represents the goal of proper nutrition: extracting energy to fuel the cardiovascular system, nervous system, muscle contractions, metabolism, and thermoregulation.

Consumed in excess, glucose is stored as glycogen or fat; fatty acids / glycerol and stored as triglyceride in fat cells or synthesized into cellular membranes while amino acids are either stored as glycogen or fat or made in to new protein compounds.

Dependency 2: Metabolic Rate

Upon the efficient extraction of energy from nutrition inputs, individuals are more perfectly able to appropriately allocate energy for various physical processes:

• Basal life processes (70%)
• Physical activity (20%)
• Thermogenesis (10%)

Basal life processes are the processes which enable mammals to function and survive. These processes involve the following organs each with different resource requirements and functions:

• Liver (27%): metabolic detoxification, protein synthesis, produce biochemicals for digestion
• Brain (19%): coordination of voluntary and involuntary actions and transmits signals to and from different parts of the body
• Skeletal Muscle (18%): muscle contractions
• Kidneys (10%): removal of metabolic waste
• Heart (7%): transport oxygen, nutrients, and removes metabolic waste from the bloodstream
• Other Organs (19%)

I sought to identify the resource requirements of our organs to better understand the effects of my nutrition intake on my physical energy requirements. By outlining the different functions / requirements of the human body, I can better understand how / why / when to consume different nutrients and also remind myself that the less efficient energy i consume, the 1) the harder my body has to work to rid itself of metabolic waste and 2) less able my body will be in executing critical physical functions.

Dependency 3: Sleep

Sleep serves three primary functions:

• Endocrine function
• Memory processing
• Waste clearance

Endocrine functions are either suppressed or increased in the absence of sleep. The following are suppressed in the absence of: growth hormone (growth, cell production, regeneration; glucose concentration); prolactin (metabolism of lipids); thyroid stimulating hormone (general metabolism). Alternatively, cortisol increases when sleep is suppressed, resulting in an increase in blood sugar and a suppression of the immune system.

Sleep enables memory processing functions. The first includes neurotransmitter regulation which involves memory consolidation via the hippocamus. Next is gene expression which involves the recycle of synaptic vessels, myelin structural protein formation, and cholesterol and protein synthesis.

Lastly, sleep involves the clearance of metabolic waste in the brain. During sleep, the brain contracts, allowing cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) to remove metabolic wastes (interstitial fluid and extracellular solutes).

Diagram: Module 1; Physical Inputs

Module 2: Cultural Environment

In good health, an individual participates in his / her broader cultural environment. This involvement includes various levels of social organization:

• Micro (person, partnership/marriage, organization, neighborhood)
• Meso (community, town/city, formal organization, state)
• Macro (nation, society, international, global)

By structure of the aforementioned modes of organization, individuals choose to participate among three facets of the cultural environment:

• Technology
• Arts/Humanities
• Science

Through these 3 facets of inclusion, individuals share and distribute knowledge, advancing the trajectory by which humans interact with the world and each other.

Dependency 1: Technology

• Cooking
• Clothing
• Architecture

The list above constitute the minimum technological requirements for a human being to survive: food, clothing, and shelter.

Dependency 2: Art / Humanities

Beyond his / her minimal physical requirements, humans record and document a snapshot of time and place through the following three mediums:

• Music
• Dance
• Religion
• Literature / Mythology

As a result of documentation, human beings can understand time and place – apart from physical involvement with a specific time period / place.

Dependency 3: Science

Lastly, the structures that define cultural environments can be understood with respect to the physical size of units within systems. Science enables individuals to observe these systems ranging from the particle level to the universe level.

(in order of decreasing magnitude from greatest to least)

Subsets of the sciences (by scale):

• Earth and Space (Astronomy: planetary science, cosmology)
• Social (Sociology: law, ethics, economics; Psychology: developmental, cognitive)
• Life (Functional Biology: physiology, medicine, ecology; Cellular Biology: biochemistry, evolutionary biology)
• Physical (Chemistry: materials, chemical reactions; Physics: particle, thermodynamic)
• Formal (Mathematics: computer science, statistics; Logic: reasoning, philosophy)

The divisions of the sciences represent different perspectives by which individuals can view the world and the means by which they identify drivers and levers affecting interaction between units in a system.

Diagram, Module 2; Cultural Environment

Significance

Thus far, we’ve reviewed the first 2 of 3 modules which I’ve identified constituting the framework of human being: physical inputs that enable individuals to participate in cultural environments defined by technology; art/humanities; science; all of which represent perspectives by which individuals can understand the world at various units of scale. Next, we will continue to understand the neurological and psychological processes which effect micro decision making that drive outcomes associated with 1) the quality of physical inputs consumed to operate in our cultural environments and 2) what persuades an individual to participate in various aspects of cultural environments. Before we dive deeper in to the topic; however, we will first explore an interlude: a physical framework through which to understand time as units of currency through which individuals involve themselves in their greater cultural environments.