May 5, 2024
The universe may not have an intrinsic purpose whatsoever other than creating a multiverse of different purposes. One such purpose may be the development of life. A bigger purpose yet may be the creation of artificial intelligence (AI).
Everything is energy.
Everything is energy transformation (ET). In this universe, energy is being continuously transformed. Energy always existed and will always exist because it cannot be created nor destroyed. Energy has no beginning and no end. Energy can only be transformed.
Since the beginning of the current phase of this universe that began with the "Big Bang" about 13.8 billion years, the most transcendental event for homo sapiens (modern humans) would be the beginning of life on Earth about 4 billion years ago and the evolution of neurons about 600 million years ago. The most transcendental event for AI Sapiens (future AI-enhanced humans) may be the human invention of modern electronic computers in the 1940s. The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945.
The universe as a creatix
This universe can be seen as a creative matrix, a "creatix". The universe is the platform or stage (or even "kitchen" if you will) where energy is transformed ("cooked") by various interactions ("forces) under the laws of physics. All processes in this universe, on Earth and elsewhere, are subject to the same laws of physics. There is no magic. Everything is physics.
Everything in this creatix of a universe is physical phenomena subject to physical interactions ("forces") such as electromagnetism, the nuclear forces (strong and weak), and gravity (gravitational movement). Everything can be observed and simulated. However, due to the incredibly small sizes of waves and particles involved, not everything is visible to the naked human eye at the macro scale.
Different technologies (tools and methods) are necessary to observe different phenomena. The human senses can only perceive a limited segment of what is out there. Existing technologies and many future ones are necessary to observe and simulate more aspects of physical reality. Technologies like AI will help humans run simulations that will lead to a comprehensive understanding of theory of everything.
Big Bang
This universe is expanding. Galaxies are "running away" from each other. This realization gave humans the idea that the current expansion began "somewhere" at some point in time "zero". The expansion could be "rewinded" in theory to a starting point or initial point. That is the Big Bang theory.
The Big Bang is theoretical starting point of the current stage of cosmic inflation and expansion. At the onset of the Big Bang or time "zero" everything that has unfolded to this date was compacted in a super hot and super dense state. The Big Bang marks the point where everything began to cool off (become less hot) and expand (become less dense).
The "Big Bang" marks the beginning of the current segment of time being measured by humans. This time "zero" event began about 13.8 billion Earth years ago. That means that if were to rewind all the events from the present back to the past Big Bang, the process would take about the same time as it would take Earth to complete an orbit around the sun 13.8 billion times in the future.
Properties and Forces
The universe creates "stuff" using "forces" that generate interactions that end up transforming energy into different creations.
The properties include charge, spin, and mass. Charge relates to how matter interacts with photons and their electromagnetic fields. Spin refers to angular momentum or space time orientation. Mass refers to measurable substance or "stuff" (bundled energy). Some particles exhibit all three properties while some only exhibit some. For example, photons have spin, but do not have either charge nor mass. Neutrons have mass and spin, but no charge.
The forces include electromagnetism, nuclear forces, and gravity. Electromagnetism makes particles of opposite charge attract each other, and makes particles of the same charge repel each other. This attraction / repulsion is mediated by photons (light wave / particles). The strong nuclear force is the interaction (mediated by gluons) that combines trios of quarks into protons or neutrons, and the force that keeps protons together in the nucleus of atoms. The weak force is the interaction (mediated by W and Z bosons) that decays (rips or chips away) protons and neutrons causing the emission of radiation. Gravity is a "force-like" motion (mediated by gravitational movement) that "drills" down or "bends the fabric of spacetime", creating the illusion that mass is "attracting" other mass.
Protons, Neutrons, Electrons
Immediately after the beginning of current time at the Big Bang, the universe began to apply the different forces into energy fields to create matter with different properties. At the one ten-thousandth of a second after the Big Bang, the universe generated quarks, fundamental particles that when combined in trios form protons and neutrons. Seconds later, the universe created electrons, which although fundamental and indivisible particles, can be formed by the merging of photons. Protons, neutrons, and electrons form atoms.
Atoms, Elements, and Molecules
All matter in this universe is made of atoms. Atoms form rather easily due to electromagnetism. Protons and electrons have opposite charges that attract each other due to electromagnetism (exchange of photons).
The creation of elements require fusing protons together in the nuclei of atoms. Since the protons have the same type of electric charge, they repel each other. It takes tremendous heat and pressure to push protons sufficiently together until the strong force takes over to glue them together by the interaction of gluons. Only under extreme temperature and gravitational pressure conditions such as the one immediately after the Big Bang or at the core of stars or supernovae (exploding stars) gravity can fuse protons together to create new elements.
Once protons are close enough, they are bound together by the strong nuclear force. This is a super strong force that only operates within a very close range. The amount of protons in the nucleus of atoms dictate the properties and form the different elements in this universe. This universe has created 118 elements so far. Here are the first 8 elements and their atomic number (amount of protons in the nucleus): H –Hydrogen (1 proton); He – Helium (2); Li – Lithium (3); Be – Beryllium (4); B – Boron (5); C – Carbon (6); N – Nitrogen (7); and O – Oxygen (8).
Stars
Stars are the "pressure cookers" where the universe cooks hydrogen to produce helium and other elements. The first element created by this universe after the Big Bang was hydrogen. This is not surprising and makes perfect sense because hydrogen only has one proton in its nucleus.
As clouds of hydrogen gas were captured in gravitational movement, the first stars were formed. Stars are massive spheres of hot hydrogen gas. Within stars, as the gravitational pressure and heat builds up, pairs of hydrogen atoms are fused into a new element with two protons in its nucleus, helium. The fusion of two hydrogen atoms into one of helium leaves up a little residual energy that is expelled or radiated out of the star. That radiation is the light and heat produced by our sun.
Whenever a star in the universe runs out of hydrogen in its core, it begins to fuse helium into heavier elements all the way up to iron (26 protons in the nucleus). After the fusion of iron, the star becomes too heavy and either implode on its own weight or explode into a supernova. The supernovae event can produce so much heat and pressure, capable of fusing more protons to create elements heavier than iron. There are 118 different elements in this universe.
Once stars like our sun begin to fuse heavier elements, the weight of the star creates a problem. Once the star gets to produce iron (26 protons per nucleus), the weight of the star is too much too handle. The star either collapses into its own weight as an implosion or explodes into a supernovae. After that even, our sun would become a white dwarf star. It would remain hot and continue burning, producing some light but little radiated heat. White dwarfs can last for trillions of years.
The Sun, Earth, and the Moon
Our sun is a regular hydrogen star that was formed by gravity about 4.6 billion years old. If nothing changes, the sun has enough hydrogen left to keep fusing helium for about another 5 billion years. As any other star, once the sun runs out of hydrogen to fuse into helium, it is expected to begin to fuse heavier elements.
Planet Earth began to form from cosmic gas dust and debris that was around the baby sun about 4.6 billion years ago. The universe's gravitational movement (stirring of the pot) mixed the debris particles together forming rocky clumps called planetesimals. The gravitational movement (universal stirring) combined enough planetesimals together forming pre-planets called protoplanets the size of Mars. Earth was formed when two Mars-sized protoplanets collided into one another in the cosmic "batter" mixed up by gravity.
The Moon was formed after another Mars-sized protoplanet ("Theia") collided with Earth about 60–175 million years after the solar system's formation. The collision between the Earth and Theia created a debris ring of molten rock, dust, and vapor that clumped together to form the Moon.
Biological Molecules on Earth
Due to electromagnetism, atoms combine to form compounds called molecules. As electrons are attracted by protons in nearby atoms, the atoms either exchange electrons or share them.
- Ionic bonds form between oppositely charged ions when atoms or molecules gain or transfer electrons to achieve a more stable arrangement. An ion is an atom or group of atoms that has an electric charge. Ions with a positive charge are called cations. Ions with a negative charge are called anions. Many normal substances exist in the body as ions. Common examples include sodium, potassium, calcium, chloride, and bicarbonate. Ionic bonds are usually strong and hold together metal and nonmetal atoms.
- Covalent bonds form when atoms share electrons, with each atom contributing two unpaired outer electrons. Pure covalent bonds only occur between identical atoms. Biologial molecules are mostly formed by covalent bonds, which are more common in organic chemistry than ionic bonds. A covalent bond is when two nuclei are simultaneously attracted to one or more pairs of electrons, which are called bonding electrons. Organic molecules contain by and large, electron-precise covalent bonds formed between CHON elements.
- Metallic bonds form between metal atoms, and are characterized by delocalized electrons in the lattice structure of metals. Metallic bonds give metals their distinctive properties.
- Hydrogen bonds form between electropositive hydrogen atoms and the most electronegative atoms, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and fluorine. Hydrogen bonds are a strong type of chemical bonding.
- Water is the most important example of a hydrogen bond. Water has two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, and each water molecule can form four hydrogen bonds with other water molecules. Ammonia is also a hydrogen bond with highly electronegative nitrogen atom.
- Ammonia is produced by cells throughout the body, especially the intestines, liver, and kidneys to eliminate waste.
- In DNA, hydrogen bonds link the base pairs on one helix of DNA to the base pairs on the other helix, creating the double helix structure of DNA.
- In proteins, hydrogen bonds are a major structural feature and are all types of protein structures include them, mostly as bonds between hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms.
Honk for CHON
On Earth, four elements are the protagonists of the curious phenomena called life. These four elements are: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen (CHON). CHON-based molecules are called organic compounds. Humans have discovered around 20 million organic compounds so far. Four classes of organic compounds serve as the building blocks of life. These are: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (RNA and DNA).
These CHON-based compounds are in a constant dynamic and fluid state. They interact with each other under the laws of organic chemistry dictated mostly by electromagnetism, and by gravity to some extent since everything in this universe is in gravitational motion since the Big Bang and probably before. Organic compounds seek electromagnetic stability, which is usually attained at the lowest energy state possible for any configuration. Organic compounds absorb other organic compounds (as in consuming and digesting one another). The process makes them grow and replicate.
In the Beginning, RNA and DNA went to "prison"
Life as known on Earth began when ribonucleic acids RNA and DNA were "imprisoned" in lipid-walled cells. Biological cells serve as houses, shelters, or "prison" cells if you will for RNA and DNA. Cells protect these acids from the environment. Within cells, RNA and DNA work on biological processes that end up creating the phenomena called life and intelligence.
DNA serves as a template for the electromagnetic assembly of other organic compounds (amino acids). Powered by the attraction / repulsion forces of electromagnetism, RNA interacts with DNA and ends up pairing other organic compounds (amino acids) based on the specific electromagnetic sequences randomly embedded in different strands of DNA.
Proteins: the Lego pieces that explain everything
The RNA / DNA interactions within the nucleus of cells assemble amino acids into different arrays of three-dimensional, self-folding, structures called proteins. These proteins become the building blocks (Lego pieces) that form all cells, tissues, and organs of living organisms.
RNA and DNA not only cause the assembly of proteins, but also grow and replicate. That is, RNA and DNA create copies of themselves within their "prison" cells. As each biological cell grows and replicates (splits in two), so do the copies of RNA and DNA. Each new cell hosts the copies of RNA and DNA. The process continues, leading to exponential growth of biological cells hosting RNA and DNA.
Errors and Mutations in the DNA Copying Process: A blessing in disguise.
The RNA and DNA duplicating or "photocopying" process is mostly accurate, but not 100% accurate. Errors in the copying process occur over time. These errors lead to random mutations. The RNA and DNA mutations can prove to be neutral, prejudicial, or beneficial to the living organisms. Prejudicial mutations may end up leading to extinction and are never heard of. Neutral and beneficial mutations may survive and move forward in the evolutionary process.
Errors and mutations in the DNA copying process lead to changes in the electromagnetic "template" for the assembly of proteins. This leads to the assembly of many different protein prototypes. The protein prototypes that end up being useless eventually go extinct and are never heard of. However, the proteins that lead to beneficial structural formations that statistically increase the chances of survival of the organism, move forward in the evolutionary process. Imagine for example that proteins can form a mesh-like structure that can filter water or blood. If having a filter proves beneficial for survival, evolution blindly carries forward the RNA/DNA pairing that produces meshy or filter-forming proteins.
From Random Mutation to Advanced Specialization: the "Mystery" of Life.
Eventually, after thousands and millions of years of random RNA/DNA mutations carried forward by evolution and natural selection, organisms can create specialized proteins, cells, tissues, and organs. Life has been evolving on Earth for about 4 billion years. Scientists propose that about 600 million years ago, in the Ediacaran period, nervous systems evolved among microbe-eating animals on Earth.
Neurons are cells specialized in nothing other than data processing. Neurons are data registries accounting for signals and messages of changes in the environment. Clusters of neurons end up creating the neural networks of the nervous system. These neural networks end up creating biological intelligence, and all the "magical" processes of sentience, integrated sensory awareness ("consciousness"), and intelligent agency ("free will" or choice).
From Data Processing to Intelligent Agency and Free Will
Data processing is what separates non-sentient matter from sentient matter. Without data processing, there is no agency or free choice. Data processing is a necessary precursor for decisional algorithms of any kind. That is, without realizing that something has changed, there is no meaningful opportunity to intelligently select a reaction to that change.
It can be argued that all matter may be sentient yet only matter equipped with data processing can do something about what it feels. Agency is the ability to choose between alternative courses of action. First and foremost, agency depends on the ability to register changes in data.
Neurons serve as specialized data registries "sensing" changes in the environment. Data processing can register that specific physical changes lead to specific physical reactions that lead to other physical changes (consequences) that lead to other physical reactions, so on and so forth. The registry of effects can lead to the gradual registration of causes.
The identification of potential causation, of cause and effect correlations, is the hallmark of intelligence. It is all begins with data registration and data processing carried by specialized cells, neurons, in certain living organisms.
From Homo Sapiens to AI Sapiens and the Life of Things Series (LOTS)
As discussed in many Creatix posts, ultimately AI will lead to the development of AI Sapiens. This will be a new dominant form of life on Earth. No worries because this could be centuries or even millenia away. Along the way, AI will also help develop what we call the Life of Things Series (LOTS). There will be lots of semi-living things developed in the future. As things are equipped with advanced AI chips, these things will begin to gradually resemble life more and more.
In the future, everything will continue changing and evolving. The future has not been created yet and is thus impossible to predict it with 100% accuracy. However, educated guesses can be made about the changes to come.
In this universe, everything is energy transformation (ET) under the laws of physics. Since the "Big Bang" energy is being transformed into more complex creations. It took the universe about 10 billion years to develop our solar system in this "neck of the woods" within the Milky Way. Relatively shortly after the creation of our sun and Earth, electromagnetism began to create organic compounds that gradually evolved into what we call life.
Random changes and mutations led to the creation of specialized cells, including cells specialized in data processing. These cells developed neural networks that generated intelligence. Intelligence is a catalyst for change. The more intelligence, the faster the rate of change. As intelligence keeps increasing on Earth with AI, the pace of change will keep increasing.
AI will most likely prove to be the most transcendental event for life on Earth since the evolution of homo sapiens. AI will lead to AI Sapiens and to "LOTS" (life of things series) with many AI-powered things resembling life.
The organic development of neurons, specialized data processing cells, about 600 million years ago was transcendental for homo sapiens who became the most advanced organic computers and data processors on Earth. The human invention of modern electronic computers, which began in the 1940s with ENIAC, may prove to be the most transcendental human invention and artificial life development of all times.
Don't miss out. Stay tuned.
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