A free-falling society? six introductory notes

Nordal Åkerman

pp. 6-28

in: Nordal Åkerman (ed), The necessity of friction, Heidelberg, Physica, 1993

Abstract

Consider war. In the face of political and nationalistic passions safety catches give way easily enough. Suddenly, the cool planning is tested against a rapidly changing reality, making only one thing certain: nothing will proceed precisely as decided beforehand. Life itself in all its complexity, ambiguity and lack of overview will reign the battlefield.