Hi Antony
An inspiring and reflective read. I trust you will do well in this contest.
It's fine if you don't recall, however i emailed you a couple of years back. I'm an Australian surfer who spends an inordinate amount of time contemplating the nature of the world. I have an essay submission and I wonder if you might be so kind as to review it please? It focuses on the unanswered question of complexity of the world, the question of emergent awareness at the top of list. why do elementary particles for example, interact in such a way that cascades to ever higher levels of ordered structure, as described in your essay? Its one thing to observe that they do, and quite another to attempt answer this question. I argue that an organization principle is needed to fill this role in our understanding, and I point to a possable candadite.
Here's a question which you can read my essay to learn my view. Why is the universe prospectively littered with wet world's, a universe of pumping surf? Can you imagine the variety of setups out there, and what the experience of surfing might present in lower or higher gravity than earth? Boggles the mind.
Anyway, love your work and hope to hear from you. In the mean time I'll give your rating a nudge in the right direction.
Steven Andresen
http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/2890
P's, I just bought a sail boat to tour our local island surf. Loving life