What is the key difference making modeling a rainforest ecosystem more difficult than modeling a pendulum?
The immense number of interacting parts within the rainforest system complicates modeling.
The text uses the comparison between a simple physical system (pendulum) and a complex biological system (rainforest) to illustrate that complexity, rather than just methodology, acts as a barrier to precise modeling. A pendulum is easy to model because it is a simple system governed by well-understood, few interacting variables. Conversely, the rainforest ecosystem involves an immense number of simultaneously interacting components. Even though the underlying physics and chemistry governing each individual organism are perfectly deterministic (hard science), the sheer number of variables involved introduces a complexity barrier, leading to higher uncertainty in predictive modeling of the whole system.
