What we believe: Life

[jspsfx]

I have been thinking lately how our subjective measurements and evaluations of spacetime influence what we perceive to be life. The way I was educated life was characterized as animals, plants, fungi, etc... I am beginning to reassess my most fundamental beliefs on this subject. I think life is bound far too often as a humanly observable phenomenon. Life has been defined, at least in my culture, as a word describing that which "lives" within a timeline that my species can observe and understand.

 

My idea is that all of existence "lives". All things process, exchange, and function inherently by presence of energy. Imagine briefly that solar systems were the building blocks necessary for the life of a galaxy. We would relatively be particles. Our energy would be necessary for this lifeform in a collective sense. Like particles, we are unpredictable to any specific point, but to some galactic biology professor our spacial coordinates are not as important as the fact that we are functioning within balance of energy exchange. I can also imagine the illustration scaled down very much but ultimately Im sure you understand my message.

 

To recap. I think the universe is living. It is comprised of entities in vast arrangements of scale that all possess the qualities of life we egotistically limit to that which we understand. To exist is to "live".

 

Concerning the definition of life... Some descriptions are in nature murky enough to allow much interpretation. Im offering my perspective on the issue. Im speaking to the connotation this word holds within my culture.

 

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Cont'd

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I felt the urge to address scale once more. I have heard scientists referring to star formations as "huge" or "enormous". I understand their use of the adjectives. Of course from our relative stance this is accurate. Relativity however seems a keyword for what I want to point out in regards to this line of thought. Life so often is restricted to our relative measure of objects advantaging in a timeline we can witness. As common as that restriction is the impulse to relate what is living to a spatial scale that we are familiar with.

 

Given that all functions relatively, why not acknowledge more so that life is the expression of energy experienced by existence?

 

 

By the way... If my thoughts here match an already established system of belief let me know! I know these thoughts are original to myself 'course, but if I am behind some curve I would like to gather insight from other like minded people. I am always tinkering with ideas concerning our perceptions of reality. Beyond high school I am uneducated by accredited institutions. I want to go to school eventually but that's a personal tale I can tell anyone who wants to message me. I know I have much to learn, and as I learn I will only learn how little I know.

 

This subject excites me so much. Conceptually I value these ideas greatly; if they come across as filtered through some sense of conceited expression I hope you can understand I only mean to illustrate my thoughts on how we perceive life! I find growth in these thoughts. Hope we can all offer growth in this topic!

Edited August 14, 2011 by jspsfx

[The Skilled Noob]

"Im sure you understand my message."

 

 

Trust me, I DO NOT. It sounds like you're talking about mass consciousness which is complete bs

 

I dunno though cause your post too big

 

"I think the universe is living."

 

we haven't found aliens yet so no it's just the Earth.

[MediaX]

Earth, stars, planets and space are all relative to the first date that time was created. I have studied for hours, days, weeks infact years for an answer and came across your post. The relative dimensions of the universe matters not. The humans that live inside the universe are important and the existance of what is perceived and regarded as possible for example alian's never existed, we can't see them or find them remember. The earth lives in the universe as a planet, earth would love humans for their existance there. if we settled on earth together, we should love each other as earth would love us for been there. Humans need to eat and the earth provides soil to grow vegetables, then there are minerals such as water. We have seasons that for some countries assist us in adapting to weather, those that have one season are not alone but different. The earth and humans are two seperate matters of education but we live together as planets do in the solar system and as the universe ventures out to find more space, humans travel further to find a new home.

 

Humans are the most important existance in the universe.

[jimmyrodrics]

I just believe in God.All happens in his grace so just chill and live life king size as if you will die tomm.

[Mrs Zeta]

I found a good definition of Life (James Grier Miller's 1978 - Living Systems). Patterns or agents that are alive meet the majority of the following:

 

 

MATTER+ENERGY+INFORMATION

1. Reproducer, the subsystem which is capable of giving rise to other systems similar to the one it is in.

2. Boundary, the subsystem at the perimeter of a system that holds together the components which make up the system, protects them from environmental stresses, and excludes or permits entry to various sorts of matter-energy and information.

 

MATTER+ENERGY 3. Ingestor, the subsystem which brings matter-energy across the system boundary from the environment.

4. Distributor, the subsystem which carries inputs from outside the system or outputs from its subsystems around the system to each component.

5. Converter, the subsystem which changes certain inputs to the system into forms more useful for the special processes of that particular system.

6. Producer, the subsystem which forms stable associations that endure for significant periods among matter-energy inputs to the system or outputs from its converter, the materials synthesized being for growth, damage repair, or replacement of components of the system, or for providing energy for moving or constituting the system's outputs of products or information markers to its suprasystem.

7. Matter-energy storage, the subsystem which retains in the system, for different periods of time, deposits of various sorts of matter-energy.

8. Extruder, the subsystem which transmits matter-energy out of the system in the forms of products or wastes.

9. Motor, the subsystem which moves the system or parts of it in relation to part or all of its environment or moves components of its environment in relation to each other.

10. Supporter, the subsystem which maintains the proper spatial relationships among components of the system, so that they can interact without weighting each other down or crowding each other.

 

INFORMATION

11. Input transducer, the sensory subsystem which brings markers bearing information into the system, changing them to other matter-energy forms suitable for transmission within it.

12. Internal transducer, the sensory subsystem which receives, from subsystems or components within the system, markers bearing information about significant alterations in those subsystems or components, changing them to other matter-energy forms of a sort which can be transmitted within it.

13. Channel and net, the subsystem composed of a single route in physical space, or multiple interconnected routes, by which markers bearing information are transmitted to all parts of the system

14. Decoder, the subsystem which alters the code of information input to it through the input transducer or internal transducer into a "private" code that can be used internally by the system.

15. Associator, the subsystem which carries out the first stage of the learning process, forming enduring associations among items of information in the system.

16. Memory, the subsystem which carries out the second stage of the learning process, storing various sorts of information in the system for different periods of time.

17. Decider, the executive subsystem which receives information inputs from all other subsystems and transmits to them information outputs that control the entire system.

18. Encoder, the subsystem which alters the code of information input to it from other information processing subsystems, from a "private" code used internally by the system into a "public" code which can be interpreted by other systems in its environment.

19. Output transducer, the subsystem which puts out markers bearing information from the system, changing markers within the system into other matter-energy forms which can be transmitted over channels in the system's environment.

 

.....

Edited September 21, 2011 by Mrs Zeta

[Voltarius]

I actually really like what you've come up with, and I've had some ideas of my own that are quite similar. If you'd like to discuss it further, feel free to add me then message me.

 

Either way, like I said, I've had similar thoughts. Mine, however, are a little bit more on the literal scale. Sometimes (it's just a random thought that formed in my head) I believe that humans as a species consider ourselves far too important. Yes, we've done great things, but we're only using 10-15% of our total brainpower. A lot of us believe that humans are the greatest thing in the universe, when we've seen less than 1% of it.

 

In terms of you talking about the human race, our planet, solar system, and galaxy being part of something much, MUCH larger, I completely agree. My own thought is that we're part of a massive, cosmic being that functions on an even larger scale. Which sounds completely absurd, I know, but it was one of the many things that formulate in my wandering brain.

 

Anyway, nice job, I like your idea.