Wandering Toward our Goals and How We May Get There a Lot Faster than You Think by Jon Beach

Hi Jon - a very interesting essay, with a good deal of insight into many aspects of the evolutionary process. Some things I especially like are:

> Your approach to "information" in terms of the relationships in which it operates, rather than just as data.

> Your appreciation of the role of language in the evolution of the human mind, and that the ability to gain new information about the world is of limited use, unless there are ways to pass it on to the next generation.

> Your mentioning that "our government, business, and social organizations are a form of evolving proto-life following a written or electronic genome." I don't think that's just a metaphor!

I do have some minor complaints when you touch on things I'm particularly interested in... for example, I don't think it was at all "a simple step to invent writing." But when we're trying to envision the entire history of evolution - as I also try to do in my essay on the evolution of meaningful information - we can't avoid some pretty drastic over-simplifications.

And I surely agree with your ending - there's no lack of imagination in this essay.

Thanks - Conrad

Dear Jon Beach

I'd like to highlight 5 important points of your essay, which I think it is great!

-"Information" is used here as a word that describes relationships between the functioning parts of living beings and their environments.

-The essence of life is that life develops a record of the past that enables it to continue in the future. A living system uses this record of past events to make predictions about future events and conditions. Through this process, the organism receives directions on how to cope with the future and use materials in its environment to grow and survive.

- It is potentially immortal and, in fact, any individual cell alive today has been continuously alive for the last 3.5 billion years.

-The question is why, in all the different permutations of animals that came before us, none ever developed a larger brain like ours? The answer may be partly that there was no real advantage because any small amount of new knowledge that a more intelligent mind might discover during a lifetime would just be lost anyway.

-Most people think that our future is guided by what we decide to do or maybe decisions or plans that our leaders make. Actually, our future will be determined by an autonomous evolutionary process

I gather that we could say that life, when seen in totality, is an immortal being trying to continuously adjust its parts to a changing environment. And each of its parts are led, by evolution, to also be a totality in potential, that is, tending to occupy the most space in the most different niches, as well as to be, in itself, a mirror to the tendency of totality, that is, its internal functions try be the most flexible and complete.

I tried to discuss some of these points on my essay. I looked from the point of view, like you, of evolution, but I selected different events to talk about. For example, the appearance of life from non life. It should be something without the capacity of memory and planning, but at the same time e able to respond to the environment. I chose chemical clocks as the primordial type of life. Please, check my essay!

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/2846

Jon,

Somehow it seems rather dystopian that what might be compared to "lateral gene transfers" might occur between "Our government, business, and social organizations as a form of evolving proto-life following a written or electronic genome" and us. Perhaps you are more optimistic than I when you say, "Life is undergoing a profound transformation into an enormously more powerful form. Our goals and ambitions will interact with the natural process of evolution to create a nearly unlimited future we can scarcely imagine." By itself, this quote is hopeful and interesting though, " Since the advent of writing humans have been able to commandeer 1 to 2 % more energy every year to further their aims and ambitions." Maybe this is true if we live with more parts of reason than unbridled emotion: "The interaction of our aims and ambitions with these evolutionary developments will lead humans to an extraordinary future."

Jim Hoover

Would like to hear your thoughts on my essay, Jon.

Jim

Dear Jon Beach,

Please excuse me for I have no intention of disparaging in any way any part of your essay.

I merely wish to point out that "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) Physicist & Nobel Laureate.

Only nature could produce a reality so simple, a single cell amoeba could deal with it.

The real Universe must consist only of one unified visible infinite physical surface occurring in one infinite dimension, that am always illuminated by infinite non-surface light.

A more detailed explanation of natural reality can be found in my essay, SCORE ONE FOR SIMPLICITY. I do hope that you will read my essay and perhaps comment on its merit.

Joe Fisher, Realist

Dear Jon Beach,

Nice essay on consciousness,

Your ideas and thinking are excellent for eg...

Consciousness is a purposeful adaptation created by natural selection in the same way and under the same pressures as all the other mechanisms of life

A Good idea, I fully agree with you, probably Universe also had a consciousness ................................. At this point I want you to ask you to please have a look at my essay, where ...............reproduction of Galaxies in the Universe is described. Dynamic Universe Model is another mathematical model for Universe. Its mathematics show that the movement of masses will be having a purpose or goal, Different Galaxies will be born and die (quench) etc...just have a look at my essay... "Distances, Locations, Ages and Reproduction of Galaxies in our Dynamic Universe" where UGF (Universal Gravitational force) acting on each and every mass, will create a direction and purpose of movement.....

I think intension is inherited from consciousness of Universe itself to all Biological systems

For your information Dynamic Universe model is totally based on experimental results. Here in Dynamic Universe Model Space is Space and time is time in cosmology level or in any level. In the classical general relativity, space and time are convertible in to each other.

Many papers and books on Dynamic Universe Model were published by the author on unsolved problems of present day Physics, for example 'Absolute Rest frame of reference is not necessary' (1994) , 'Multiple bending of light ray can create many images for one Galaxy: in our dynamic universe', About "SITA" simulations, 'Missing mass in Galaxy is NOT required', "New mathematics tensors without Differential and Integral equations", "Information, Reality and Relics of Cosmic Microwave Background", "Dynamic Universe Model explains the Discrepancies of Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry Observations.", in 2015 'Explaining Formation of Astronomical Jets Using Dynamic Universe Model, 'Explaining Pioneer anomaly', 'Explaining Near luminal velocities in Astronomical jets', 'Observation of super luminal neutrinos', 'Process of quenching in Galaxies due to formation of hole at the center of Galaxy, as its central densemass dries up', "Dynamic Universe Model Predicts the Trajectory of New Horizons Satellite Going to Pluto" etc., are some more papers from the Dynamic Universe model. Four Books also were published. Book1 shows Dynamic Universe Model is singularity free and body to collision free, Book 2, and Book 3 are explanation of equations of Dynamic Universe model. Book 4 deals about prediction and finding of Blue shifted Galaxies in the universe.

With axioms like... No Isotropy; No Homogeneity; No Space-time continuum; Non-uniform density of matter(Universe is lumpy); No singularities; No collisions between bodies; No Blackholes; No warm holes; No Bigbang; No repulsion between distant Galaxies; Non-empty Universe; No imaginary or negative time axis; No imaginary X, Y, Z axes; No differential and Integral Equations mathematically; No General Relativity and Model does not reduce to General Relativity on any condition; No Creation of matter like Bigbang or steady-state models; No many mini Bigbangs; No Missing Mass; No Dark matter; No Dark energy; No Bigbang generated CMB detected; No Multi-verses etc.

Many predictions of Dynamic Universe Model came true, like Blue shifted Galaxies and no dark matter. Dynamic Universe Model gave many results otherwise difficult to explain

Have a look at my essay on Dynamic Universe Model and its blog also where all my books and papers are available for free downloading...

http://vaksdynamicuniversemodel.blogspot.in/

Best wishes to your essay.

For your blessings please................

=snp. gupta

Jon,

The contest is drawing to an end, and I am reviewing those I've read and am not sure that I rated. Yours I did on 3/10. Short memory.

Hope you enjoyed the interchange of ideas as much as I did and still do.

Jim Hoover

Dear Sirs!

Physics of Descartes, which existed prior to the physics of Newton returned as the New Cartesian Physic and promises to be a theory of everything. To tell you this good news I use spam.

New Cartesian Physic based on the identity of space and matter. It showed that the formula of mass-energy equivalence comes from the pressure of the Universe, the flow of force which on the corpuscle is equal to the product of Planck's constant to the speed of light.

New Cartesian Physic has great potential for understanding the world. To show it, I ventured to give "materialistic explanations of the paranormal and supernatural" is the title of my essay.

Visit my essay, you will find there the New Cartesian Physic and make a short entry: "I believe that space is a matter" I will answer you in return. Can put me 1.

Sincerely,

Dizhechko Boris