Is Life a Result of a limitless Combination of Chemicals?
An exponential creation of different environments created by the formation of stars as the universe expands.
On the Big Think YouTube channel, there is a story, “The physics of entropy and the origin of life,” by Sean Carroll, with the question, “How did complex systems emerge from chaos?”
It begins with a discussion of the second law of thermodynamics, Entropy. The measure of randomness of the system. The measure of energy within an isolated system. However, no system is “isolated” because “synthesis” tells us there is always a larger system that gives context to this one. Thus, enters the Universe with Entropy, where nature dictates matter/energy deteriorates gradually over time. In such a case, “entropy is the measure of the disorder of the system.” Coffee in a cup can only get cold; materials left on their own will crumble; the Universe will continue to expand and lose energy doing so (read “The Universe According to an Engineer”). One of the conclusions that can be drawn from that point of view is “the singularity that results at ‘the end’ can only be an instantaneous balance between energy and gravity before another expansion begins.”
Albert Einstein, the genius who opened a new understanding of the Universe to the rest of us mortals, defined, “E = mc2, the equation of the theory of special relativity that expresses the fact that mass and energy are the same physical entity through his equation and can be transformed one for the other” (Encyclopedia Britannica). This tells us the conclusion drawn in the Universe by an Engineer post, in the end, the infinite mass of the last black hole gets turned back into energy by gravity and becomes a new singularity. The fourth dimension, “Space-time,” when all other dimensions disappear (Zero), space-time goes to infinity for an instant and explodes again. An equation without solution? Maybe, Engineers don’t deal with infinity. I would say the solution is another expansion of the universe where Energy starts creating mass again, and its very basic elements start creating an infinite combination of new elements.
The presenter in the YouTube episode asks, “how in the face in the midst of disorder does something as complex as a human being come about?” It proposes that this is a “new scientific” question we are facing now.
So the questions the “entropy and the question of life” group is working on is: “What is the journey from low entropy to high entropy like? And how is it affected by the laws of physics so that the path it takes leads to complex structures?”
The third variable combination not considered in the question is “space-time and entropy.” When you add space-time and disorder plus the exponential combinations of matter, you can get “life.” This part has been shown in a lab as we speak. see “Genetic requirements for cell division in a genomically minimal cell” and “Artificial Life Forged in a Lab? Scientists Create Synthetic Cell That Grows and Divides Normally”
This same disorder created the earth, the safe vehicle we are traveling on. As seen by physicists, planets like Earth are rare in what we have seen of the universe (not much).
As explained by Anton Petrov in his YouTube discussion In “The Oldest Animal Found,” in an “890 million old fossil that may contain the oldest animal life inside.” An animal, defined as “A multicellular and eukaryotic organism that requires a lot of organic matter to survive, breathes oxygen, able to move, reproduce, and goes through stages of development with many body parts that support the system for life.”
However, no system is “isolated” thus, matter/energy deteriorates gradually over time. In such cases, entropy is the measure of the disorder of the system. Coffee can only get cold; materials left on their own will crumble; the Universe will continue to expand and lose energy doing so.
In the midst of this chaos, how does something as exquisite as a human being come about?
It proposes that this is a “new scientific” question we are facing today.
The other story or point of view gets past the question of how life came about and is trying to work on, now that life is here, what do we do with it? and their answer is, “let the AI machines tell us.”
As seen by the creators of artificial intelligence, it happens through the power of exponential change. In “2077 10 Seconds to the future,” Paul Saffo, USA, Silicon Valley-based forecaster Singularity University, Stanford University, explains -
“People look at exponentials today as something exotic, but, in fact, we are surrounded by exponentials today, not just in technology but in the biological world. Two cells doubling over nine months gives you one trillion cells, and what do we call that? A baby. Happy exponential in biology is the miracle of birth. Less happy exponentials, an exponential phenomenon is cancer.
Consumption of oil has followed an exponential pattern, nuclear chain reactions are, by definition, exponential.
Culturally, accommodating to that change is what is creating the tension in global society today.”
As “2077 10 seconds into the future” softly implies — when discussing if we can determine how life will be in 2077, humanity having permanency as a happy society or dark and gloomy in a dystopian society…
“This (the human choice for its future) might depend on the utility function of the AI that achieves superintelligence and then might be in a position to shape these longer-term outcomes.”
A question posed earlier on the journey of entropy and how the laws of physics affect its journey such that it leads to complex structures, one thing is for certain, AI will not solve that problem; it may have superintelligence, but where does its exponential thinking come from?
So, the first story considers entropy, the randomness of the universe The third variable not considered in the question is “time.” when you add time to the disorder and the exponential combinations of matter… we project into the future of the universe, and when it ends, what would have AI done? the Universe will continue as is trading energy for all kinds of matter. There is an end. But…then…there is a new beginning….. And,
YOU CAN GET LIFE! (again)
Thank You for Reading!
