Very thoughtful post. Love the poem. Folks may find this interesting. Dean Radin speaking of random number generator and events that focus attention around the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvJfkI5NVc I personally find it important to spend time in meditation to begin my day and often set intention of how I want the day to go or get an answer to a question. Very recently I asked at the beginning of the day "Should I make a trip to San Jose de Pacifico.?" I live in Mexico about 4 hours by bus from San Jose de Pacifico, a place where magic mushrooms grow. Shortly after that request I ran into a friend who was wearing a shirt that had mushrooms on the front and the back with the words "stay weird." Clear quick answer. We can affect outcomes. It is not some woo woo thing. Evolution points toward this.
An intriguing and worthwhile topic and written very well. The overlap with spiritual and metaphysical concepts is striking and certainly worthy of intense investigation (thus, altering the system!). We have forgotten that science and mathematics were often historically developed and pursued so that we might better see the presence of "God". Bravo on a wonderfully thought-provoking piece!
Darwinian evolution simply does not account for the Cambrian Explosion some 500 million years ago when biological life appeared suddenly on Earth in spectacular diversity. Hoyle's panspermia offers a far more plausible explanation.
This doesn't rule out incremental evolution via mutation at the margin. As your three-part essay argues, it is not only possible but scientifically demonstrable. Neither does it do away with a prime reality at the point of origin of the universe, acknowledged differently by different faiths as the act of creation by a nameless supreme intelligence or specific god.
Creation and evolution need not be mutually exclusive. Both sides get carried away with a sense of righteous indignation seeing them as diametrically opposed to one another. The only literature (that I am familiar with) which brings the two together are the Vedas. In a nutshell, they describe evolution as a process which follows the original act of creation. They name Brahma as the creator of the universe, and of the Vedas which contain knowedge of the universe. Brahman, thus, becomes the creative force.
The Vedas follow this up by identifying the manifestations of this force through an evolutionary process of successive avatars:
1. Matsya, the fish avatar (consistent with life appearing first in water)
2. Kurma, the sea turtle avatar (amphibian)
3. Varaha, the boar avatar (first land mammal)
4. Narasimha, the half man, half lion avatar
5. Vamana, the dwarf man avatar
7. Parashurama, the warrior-sage avatar who goes on a berserker spree slaughtering kshatriyas
8. Rama, the perfect man avatar (homo sapiens?) who establishes the first just government of the world
9. Krishna, the avatar who oversees the triumph of righteousness over evil
10. Kalki, the yet to come final avatar, prophesied to end the present age of deceit (Kali Yuga)
The similarities between the sequence of these avatars and Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution are too uncanny. Such ancient knowledge suggests creation and evolution are interconnected, by design.
Krishna, the ninth avatar, reveals during his sermon to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield (venue of the Mahabharata war) his 'Vishwarupa' or cosmic form. According to the Bhagavad Gita which contains the text of the full sermon, this cosmic form shows an awe-inspiring, downright maddening, vision of the universe in its entirety. The good and the evil, the physical and the non-physical, multifarious life forms, planets, stars, galaxies, constellations... All that makes up the universe and Krishna as the one who contains that universe and is himself so defined by it. In other words, the creator and creations are indistinguishable from one another.
Fact or fantasy? Perhaps all facts originate as fantasies in our imagination or thoughts until they are proven realities. Close to your observations on consciousness existing outside the realm of material physics.
Is there an IQZE’r? How did life first emerge on earth and do you (reader) think it would have if the sun were replaced with a giant gro-lite? Our star supports life in every possible (indirect) way from weather to food, energy, clothing, housing, medicine, etc. The sun (and moon) teach us about time. Why not the direct animating force/field/flux of life as well? And AI is teaching us high intelligence requires high energy density. Imagine how intelligent the Sun might be. . . . also, it could redefine the meaning of “smart bomb” -)
IQZE is easy to demonstrate with a light bulb and a few dollars worth of polarizing filters. If you set up the first filter to create vertical polarization, then follow that with several filters rotated a few degrees each compared to the last one, you can create horizontally polarized light at the end.
Is the sun alive? I don't think it's a ridiculous question. But I'd ask how can we know? What testable predictions come out of the living sun hypothesis? Sheldrake is the best-known scientist associated with the living sun, and he has proposed that large groups of people pray to the sun, asking for a flare at a particular time that would demonstrate to us that the sun hears our prayers. I'm ready to pay heed to such an experiment.
We could ask for a parting of the Red Sea. -) Two million people are praying all day every day in Gaza, alone, to no avail. If the Sun is the IQZE’r, should it matter to whom we think we are praying to? Maybe we should ask for knowledge and wisdom instead of . . . tricks?
I propose a solution to your problem with H E S’s having no stake in test results. It would test if emotional intensity can couple with, intensify, mind over matter. A barber type chair could be used to suddenly drop subjects briefly stimulating the intense sensation of falling while concentrating on the task and observing any changes in the result.
I suppose Sheldrake would argue that once a mutation arose in Zimbabwe, the same mutation would have an enhanced probability of arising in Iowa. Would that help move evolution forward?
Tell me more about what you see as the relationship between morphogenetic fields and the pace of evolution.
What I grapple with, conceptually, is the evolution of self-replicating catalysed reactions which use an energy source to generate further complexity. As you have said many times, 4.5/5 billion years doesn't seem to provide enough time for this to have happened by chance. However, taking Sheldrake's idea, what if a peptide chain could have several different stable folded states, but only one of these states would be optimised to generate the slightly increased downstream complexity. According to standard evolutionary theory, this would happen just once and gradually out-compete all the other states. The theory of morphogenic fields however suggests that having happened once, it is much more likely to happen again elsewhere. This alone would accelerate evolution far above the random. Surely, morphogenic fields are analogous to your proposal of a conscious universe?
Interesting idea. To me, the question is, "Where is the bottleneck?" In other words, what is the slowest link in the chain of events that created life? I wrote 2 years ago that I believe it is the formation of the very first self-reproducing systems.
Very thoughtful post. Love the poem. Folks may find this interesting. Dean Radin speaking of random number generator and events that focus attention around the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvJfkI5NVc I personally find it important to spend time in meditation to begin my day and often set intention of how I want the day to go or get an answer to a question. Very recently I asked at the beginning of the day "Should I make a trip to San Jose de Pacifico.?" I live in Mexico about 4 hours by bus from San Jose de Pacifico, a place where magic mushrooms grow. Shortly after that request I ran into a friend who was wearing a shirt that had mushrooms on the front and the back with the words "stay weird." Clear quick answer. We can affect outcomes. It is not some woo woo thing. Evolution points toward this.
❤️ Maybe you would like http://i-ching.guru
The I-Ching answers the burning question in the moment of your life, not a hypothetical you compose for the occasion.
It can be a little scary that way. Be forewarned.
I use wheatstalk pennies, with masculine Abe on one side, and feminine full wheat on the other side. Choose what has yin/yang meaning for you.
Thanks for writing on this topic. I've been thinking similar thoughts, although without the scientific sophistication.
Editorial note: I think you meant sown here: "Hoyle’s universe is sewn through with intelligence."
I think you're right about the phrase as it's isually written. I always thought of it as a tapestry, but the phrase comes from a garden.
yes it's a garden with seeds ready to sprout and grow.
An intriguing and worthwhile topic and written very well. The overlap with spiritual and metaphysical concepts is striking and certainly worthy of intense investigation (thus, altering the system!). We have forgotten that science and mathematics were often historically developed and pursued so that we might better see the presence of "God". Bravo on a wonderfully thought-provoking piece!
Thank you.
Darwinian evolution simply does not account for the Cambrian Explosion some 500 million years ago when biological life appeared suddenly on Earth in spectacular diversity. Hoyle's panspermia offers a far more plausible explanation.
This doesn't rule out incremental evolution via mutation at the margin. As your three-part essay argues, it is not only possible but scientifically demonstrable. Neither does it do away with a prime reality at the point of origin of the universe, acknowledged differently by different faiths as the act of creation by a nameless supreme intelligence or specific god.
Creation and evolution need not be mutually exclusive. Both sides get carried away with a sense of righteous indignation seeing them as diametrically opposed to one another. The only literature (that I am familiar with) which brings the two together are the Vedas. In a nutshell, they describe evolution as a process which follows the original act of creation. They name Brahma as the creator of the universe, and of the Vedas which contain knowedge of the universe. Brahman, thus, becomes the creative force.
The Vedas follow this up by identifying the manifestations of this force through an evolutionary process of successive avatars:
1. Matsya, the fish avatar (consistent with life appearing first in water)
2. Kurma, the sea turtle avatar (amphibian)
3. Varaha, the boar avatar (first land mammal)
4. Narasimha, the half man, half lion avatar
5. Vamana, the dwarf man avatar
7. Parashurama, the warrior-sage avatar who goes on a berserker spree slaughtering kshatriyas
8. Rama, the perfect man avatar (homo sapiens?) who establishes the first just government of the world
9. Krishna, the avatar who oversees the triumph of righteousness over evil
10. Kalki, the yet to come final avatar, prophesied to end the present age of deceit (Kali Yuga)
The similarities between the sequence of these avatars and Darwinian and Lamarckian evolution are too uncanny. Such ancient knowledge suggests creation and evolution are interconnected, by design.
Krishna, the ninth avatar, reveals during his sermon to Arjuna on the Kurukshetra battlefield (venue of the Mahabharata war) his 'Vishwarupa' or cosmic form. According to the Bhagavad Gita which contains the text of the full sermon, this cosmic form shows an awe-inspiring, downright maddening, vision of the universe in its entirety. The good and the evil, the physical and the non-physical, multifarious life forms, planets, stars, galaxies, constellations... All that makes up the universe and Krishna as the one who contains that universe and is himself so defined by it. In other words, the creator and creations are indistinguishable from one another.
Fact or fantasy? Perhaps all facts originate as fantasies in our imagination or thoughts until they are proven realities. Close to your observations on consciousness existing outside the realm of material physics.
Is there an IQZE’r? How did life first emerge on earth and do you (reader) think it would have if the sun were replaced with a giant gro-lite? Our star supports life in every possible (indirect) way from weather to food, energy, clothing, housing, medicine, etc. The sun (and moon) teach us about time. Why not the direct animating force/field/flux of life as well? And AI is teaching us high intelligence requires high energy density. Imagine how intelligent the Sun might be. . . . also, it could redefine the meaning of “smart bomb” -)
IQZE is easy to demonstrate with a light bulb and a few dollars worth of polarizing filters. If you set up the first filter to create vertical polarization, then follow that with several filters rotated a few degrees each compared to the last one, you can create horizontally polarized light at the end.
Is the sun alive? I don't think it's a ridiculous question. But I'd ask how can we know? What testable predictions come out of the living sun hypothesis? Sheldrake is the best-known scientist associated with the living sun, and he has proposed that large groups of people pray to the sun, asking for a flare at a particular time that would demonstrate to us that the sun hears our prayers. I'm ready to pay heed to such an experiment.
We could ask for a parting of the Red Sea. -) Two million people are praying all day every day in Gaza, alone, to no avail. If the Sun is the IQZE’r, should it matter to whom we think we are praying to? Maybe we should ask for knowledge and wisdom instead of . . . tricks?
I propose a solution to your problem with H E S’s having no stake in test results. It would test if emotional intensity can couple with, intensify, mind over matter. A barber type chair could be used to suddenly drop subjects briefly stimulating the intense sensation of falling while concentrating on the task and observing any changes in the result.
No room here for Sheldrake's 'morphogenic fields'?
I suppose Sheldrake would argue that once a mutation arose in Zimbabwe, the same mutation would have an enhanced probability of arising in Iowa. Would that help move evolution forward?
Tell me more about what you see as the relationship between morphogenetic fields and the pace of evolution.
What I grapple with, conceptually, is the evolution of self-replicating catalysed reactions which use an energy source to generate further complexity. As you have said many times, 4.5/5 billion years doesn't seem to provide enough time for this to have happened by chance. However, taking Sheldrake's idea, what if a peptide chain could have several different stable folded states, but only one of these states would be optimised to generate the slightly increased downstream complexity. According to standard evolutionary theory, this would happen just once and gradually out-compete all the other states. The theory of morphogenic fields however suggests that having happened once, it is much more likely to happen again elsewhere. This alone would accelerate evolution far above the random. Surely, morphogenic fields are analogous to your proposal of a conscious universe?
Interesting idea. To me, the question is, "Where is the bottleneck?" In other words, what is the slowest link in the chain of events that created life? I wrote 2 years ago that I believe it is the formation of the very first self-reproducing systems.
https://mitteldorf.substack.com/p/the-origin-of-life
Thanks, I will take the time to read carefully. I very much enjoy these discursions on the thorny topic of evolution.
I hope you had a serendipitous evening in Paris, Josh.
Is measurement a "cognitive process" or a Perceptive Process?
Is it open to different-perceptions, as can be the case when we see the same thing differently for the first time?
Is it open to mis-perceptions, as I often do these days (often in a humorous way)?
I'm guessing that measurement has something to do with attention, extrapolating from Dean Radin's results.