Einstein and Infield, in their book The Evolution of Physics, suggest that knowledge of the laws of nature can be gained through the contemplation of idealized experiments created by thought, or the `Gedanke-Experiment.'

For example, to address the equality of inertial and gravitational masses, Einstein imagined an elevator at the top of an incredibly high building, and then imagined what research would be done in this local moving environment. Such experiments might seem "fantastic" he said, but they might help us understand what we want to understand. Although ecology is orders of magnitude more complex than physical systems, perhaps we could imagine and use such experiments to help us understand what is happening with our complex environment in Bulgaria, which is composed of many interwoven ecological systems. By asking all kinds of questions and then imagining the answers, given what we know about our history and ourselves, we could discuss things that are often taken for granted, or not even thought about. For example, the following thought experiments could be worked out individually in later articles:

We seem to be replacing natural services with industrial ones. How far can that go? How much will it cost, and what effect will it have on everything else? Should we treat every bit of water? Or avoid polluting it in the first place?

Bulgaria is keen to join NATO. What would happen if Bulgaria spent more effort supporting the United Nations (in fact, what would happen if the United States and other countries also offered more support to the UN)? What would happen if countries gave up their excess military power to the UN (including nuclear weapons and bombers), and kept only their in-country police forces?

Bulgaria has a greater percentage of wild nature than most other countries, including the United States - in fact, many European countries are trying to restore what Bulgaria still has. How should Bulgaria deal with the nature within its borders? Create a wilderness inventory and set aside more parks and wildlife corridors? Or allow it to be used by people as they wish?

Domestic animals are truly loved by Bulgarians, but there seem to be large numbers of them roaming the streets. Many cities are trying to solve this situation by killing all the stray dogs in a city. What should be done? What is the role of these animals in our lives? What effects does it have on wildlife or on people living in the cities?

Many things are out of place in Bulgaria. Trash is a major problem for any country with ambitions to be a tourist destination. Why does it appear in rivers and fields? Could there be a historical or cultural reason for it? How can it be changed? Or should it?

Bulgaria has a small and declining population - is this a problem or an advantage? What should we try to do: Grow as quickly as possible? Try to balance the population with the capacity of the land? Or just let things go by themselves. What would be the consequences of each decision?

One expectation that modern life has raised in us is that there is no right answer. The best response to a situation or a problem or a question may be a hypothesis, that is, a thought experiment. In this way, we could create explanations and discover answers in a dialog with others. Thought experiments could let us examine things and change them without really modifying or destroying the unique systems under study. In practice, this means thinking first, and all the possible connections, before actually making changes the best way possible.