Quantum Physics and Virtual Reality: Part Two

Most physicists don’t have much of a philosophical streak. Most philosophers don’t usually have the technical background to come to terms with modern physics. Whether physicists or philosophers, they don’t promote ideas far outside their subject’s standard model. It’s not usually considered a wise career move. I have no academic career to damage, so I’m going to combine physics and philosophy and think way outside of the established box. It’s going to be physics ‘explained’ by appeal to the Simulated (Virtual reality) Universe scenario.

Continued now from Part One…

# ALL THINGS [NOT] TRANSPARENT

The standard macro analogy to an atom (nucleus and electron cloud surrounding it) is trying to picture a gnat (the nucleus) in the middle of Westminster Abbey with a cloud of bacteria (the electrons) around the walls, ceiling and floor and thus surrounding the gnat. In other words, there’s a hell of a lot of empty space inside your everyday atom. That might suggest that electromagnetic radiation, photons, would have no trouble in passing right on through an atom without intersecting anything and thus being hindered on its uninterrupted journey.

So why isn’t everything transparent? Why doesn’t light go right through you? Why are some things transparent (air, glass) and some things (of equal density and thickness) opaque for a specific wavelength/frequency of ‘light’ (light here being not just visible light but infrared light and radio light and microwave light, etc. not that the energy value of the photons of ‘light’ should matter since it is traveling through what’s for all practical purposes ‘empty’ space). Further, photons have no electric charge properties that would hinder their passing straight through your average atom. 

A quick anomalous point – light passes through air. You can look clear through roughly 100 miles of atmosphere and see the sun and moon and stars, etc. Add a bit of smog or fog and things get a bit on the opaque side, yet the overall thickness and density of the clear air, or air-smog mix, isn’t drastically different. It’s still 99.99% empty space. Something’s screwy somewhere unless of course there’s additional programming that counters the scenario.

# SYMMETRY & PARITY

One of the fundamental bedrocks beloved by physicists is their love of symmetry, especially with respect to time, charge and parity.

Physics should work as we know it whether time is considered positive or negative***. It doesn’t matter if you go 50 miles per negative hour for 10 negative hours, you still travel 500 miles. Or, imagine two electrons (call them A and B) traveling towards in time, each approaching the other. When they get close enough, they will repel each other (both being of the same negative charge) by exchanging a virtual photon. But which electron emitted the virtual photon? It might have been A to B forward in time, but it is just as probable that it might have been B to A backwards in time. It’s symmetrical either way you care to look at it. And of course any negative time that’s squared in any equation reverts to positive time.

Physics and chemistry should work as we know it even if positrons (antimatter electrons) ‘orbited’ around nuclei comprised of antiprotons and antineutrons (collectively anti-nucleons). So charge is symmetric.

Parity is your left-right mirror image. Physics should remain the same when viewed in a mirror. Mirror light still comes out of a mirror image flashlight; gravity still makes mirror image apples fall to the mirror image ground. The distinction between left and right should hold no sway in physics. Unfortunately, while charge and time are totally symmetrical with respect to the operations in physics, there’s an ‘oops’ in parity. The ‘oops’ is not in electromagnetism, nor in gravity, nor in the strong nuclear force (which hold the nucleons (protons and neutrons) in a tight embrace in the nucleus. Parity however is not conserved in weak nuclear force interactions. Physicists might say that Mother Nature has a slight bias towards the left; some theologians might suggest that God is a weak lefthander; I might put it that our Supreme Programmer introduced into some software subroutines a code favoring a slight left-handed slant.   

So symmetry holds in 11 out of 12 cases – four forces (electromagnetism, gravity, and the strong and the weak nuclear forces) times three symmetry operations (time, charge and parity) with only the parity of the weak force being the odd one out. There’s something screwy somewhere!

# UNIQUENESS

In the macro world no two ‘identical’ products, inanimate or animate, are actually identical down to the Nth detail – not even identical twins. But in the micro world that’s not the case. All photons are identical, even when they have differing energy levels. All heavy hydrogen atoms are identical, ditto so are all those up-quarks or tau neutrinos. Why this should be so is not readily apparent from first principles on up the line. However, it’s easy to code any particle, and whenever that code appears, you have an identical particle appear.  

# CHEMISTRY

It’s not at all clear (to me at least), how the rather limited properties we associate with electrons, neutrons and protons, can, just by changing their relative numbers in association with each other, morph into all of the wide variety of properties associated with the chemical elements.

Further, it’s not at all clear (to me at least), how the properties of the chemical elements can ‘combine’ to form molecules with vastly differing properties from those of its parents. For example, a yellowish and to us poisonous gas (chlorine), plus an explosive (in water) silver metal (sodium) can morph into properties we associate with a whitish quasi-translucent solid crystal - table salt (sodium chloride).

Further again, it’s not at all clear (to me at least), how memory and creativity (and not just in humans) can be stored and manipulated in terms of chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry or neurochemistry. Of course it’s easy to encode ‘memory’ into software and with the rise and rise of artificial intelligence, can creativity be far behind?

# FRACTAL COSMOLOGY

Though bordering on the fringe, some bona-fide astronomers strongly suggest from both the observational and the theoretical point of view that the extreme large-scale structure of the cosmos exhibits a fractal pattern (and there is some extensive literature on the subject). To me however, fractals are primarily a mathematical construction; the product of a mathematical mind, and as such, if there is a fractal cosmos, that’s very strong evidence for a Supreme Programmer. 

# CONCLUSIONS

It’s just about time here to cite Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law, which notes that “any sufficiently advanced technology (i.e. – a Supreme Programmer, for example) is indistinguishable from [quantum physics] magic”. 

To his dying day, Einstein insisted that there were hidden variables that would, when discovered account for those various quantum anomalies – quantum magic. Those hidden variables would ultimately unite quantum physics with classical physics. Unfortunately for Einstein, experiments have since ‘proved’ that there are no hidden variables of the type Einstein had in mind. That’s because IMHO the hidden variable, which Einstein couldn’t have envisioned in even his wildest imagination, is the Supreme Programmer who creates our Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe. 

Not only can the Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe scenario account for the above hardcore but seemingly magical anomalies in physics (and chemistry), but perhaps the Supreme Programmer left us these clues, inadvertently or deliberately, such as, in the macro world, those enigmatic crop ‘circles’ for which no other theory makes any absolute sense, common or otherwise.

***Not to be confused with the concept of running a film backwards.



The Simulated Universe Concept

Nearly everyone, if asked, will tell you that there is a really real universe out there and that they are part of that natural universe. However, that might not be the case. The case might be that there is a really real virtual universe out there and that you are a part of that simulated universe. In other words, you are akin to being just a character in what are commonly termed video games, only this video game that you are a character in was created by an unknown – let’s call this creator the Supreme Programmer; maybe a human; maybe not. 

THE SIMULATED UNIVERSE!

Q. What Is The Simulated Universe Hypothesis?

A. The human species, especially since the proliferation of the computer and associated technologies, have created thousands of simulated landscapes and virtual beings, from the humble Microsoft office assistant to pilot training simulators to video games that cater to all types of interests and age groups. Entire movies are now computer generated simulations – no actual on-location travel required; no humans need apply in hopes of earning an eventual Oscar for best actor. In view of the explosion of simulation technologies, and it’s only going to increase and get ever more realistic than it already is, the question has arisen, if we can create virtual worlds, might not we in turn be virtual beings ‘living’ in a simulated landscape programmed for some purpose or other, by other beings which might be futuristic humans recreating their past history, or ET’s video game version of “The Life and Times on the Third Rock in the Sol Planetary System”. It’s a best seller on Krypton! Though once just sci-fi speculation, that profound idea that we don’t really exist as flesh-and-blood is now taken very seriously indeed. However, there are many more questions arising from this scenario.

Q. Who gets prime credit for coming up with the Simulated Universe hypothesis?

A. I wish I could, but I can’t. Prime credit should probably go to Professor Nick Bostrom, a philosopher at Oxford University as well as the Director of the Future of Humanity Institute. His original paper, “Are you living in a computer simulation” appeared in the Philosophical Quarterly, volume 53, number 211, 2003. 

Q. How Is The Simulated Universe Created?

A. In the exact same way as computer nerds and geeks here on Earth create all the various thousands of instructional and recreational simulations here on Terra Firma. It’s all in the programming.

Q. Who or what is the Supreme Programmer?

A. Obviously those of a religious leaning would call the Supreme Programmer God, except God is identified with creating a really real reality, not virtual reality. I much prefer a flesh-and-blood Supreme Programmer, which offers up one of two possibilities. The Supreme Programmer could be a human(s) with computing and programming skills far in advance of our own, or the Supreme Programmer could be a non-terrestrial, an alien or an extraterrestrial. Hey, if we can create aliens in out video games, well what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Q. Can software create matter and energy?

A. No. Software can only create virtual or simulated matter and energy.

Q. Is the matter and energy that we experience in our world matter and energy that doesn’t exist?

A. The matter and energy we experience in our world doesn’t really exist because we don’t really exist as a manifestation of matter and energy. Think of those animated cartoons – Bugs Bunny doesn’t exist as matter nor does the carrot he eats, but he still eats the carrot!

Q. How can a mind exist if there is no matter in our world to make our brains?

A. If our mind, and the brain it is housed in, is virtual matter – as it would be if we were simulated – then there’s no need for there to be really real matter in our world. 

Q. There must be really real matter somewhere in order for the Supreme Programmer to exist so he / she / it can create the really real software program.

A. Of course. We may be virtual beings in a simulated universe but that would still require a really real universe and really real reality for the creator of the software to create in – our Supreme Programmer. An analogy is that the characters in our video games or cartoons (like Bugs Bunny) reside in a simulated or cartoon world, but their simulated or cartoon world resides in what we think of as 3-D reality – our universe. 

Q. Does the Supreme Programmer manipulate us in real time as per a terrestrial video game, or has he / she / it just created an initial set of conditions; laws, principles and relationships, and then hit “enter” or “run program” and see how events unfold?

A. The latter. I certainly don’t get the sensation I’m being manipulated by outside forces beyond my everyday comprehension as if I were a character in a video game.

Q. Instead of being the product of computer software, might we be the product of wetware – someone dreaming or daydreaming (or even hallucinating)?

A. Absolutely. We all know how vivid, real, lifelike, and detailed dreams can be. The mind is capable of painting incredibly realistic imagery. The mind is more than capable of constructing virtual reality. Each day billions of virtual reality landscapes are created and dissolved – dreamland landscapes.

Q. What’s in it for me if the Simulated Universe scenario is correct?

A. Well, the Supreme Programmer isn’t much help when it comes to you paying your dues, bills, taxes, or in assisting you when dealing with those day-to-day issues we all have. But, it just might be a key element to your afterlife. End sub-programme routine “Life: Jane Doe”; run sub-programme routine “Afterlife: Jane Doe”. 

Q. Is there anyway we can know that we are just virtual beings in a Simulated Universe?

A. If the Supreme Programmer really knows his (or her or its) stuff, no. You’re programmed not to know.

Q. Is there anyway we can suspect that something’s screwy somewhere, that we are just virtual beings in a Simulated Universe?

A. Computer software often needs tweaking – so look for anomalous tweaks around us. Computer software is often overridden, though usually never 100% completely – so look for the residue of overridden software, like ghostly images. Computer software programming will vary in the detail required – so look to areas that have been given the broad brush treatment where detail is lacking or so glossed over as to present anomalies. Computer programming might contain contradictions, backgrounds not thought through properly – so look around for enigmas – things that can’t be yet are. Look in general for all those ‘oops’ bits. Look in general for anything and everything than can best be explained by software programming or technology, as opposed to any natural forces at work.

Q. I gather therefore that the Simulated Universe hypothesis is like God-of-the-gaps arguments. Anything and everything is explainable.

A. Yes. Unfortunately there’s no getting around this. Religion explains all since “God works in mysterious ways” – that’s a copout. Anything God can explain away software programming can explain away too. 

Q. What is the best argument against the Simulated Universe scenario?

A. Crunch power! The sheer amount of bits and bytes that could be required to simulate to the detail required our existence, life, the Universe and everything, would be massive. Now that’s not to say lots of shortcuts wouldn’t be taken. You could skimp on a lot of the micro details and a lot of the cosmic details, but even taking into account quantum computing it would be a massive set of software programmes. However, if it is a really advanced technological society, human or extraterrestrial, creating our virtual world, well who’s to say what might or might not be possible.

Discussion

When it comes to the Simulated Universe concept, there’s probably a time differential in operation. Just as in some of our simulations we speed up the unfolding action, compressing say a million years of galactic evolution into a few minutes, so too might our Supreme Programmer unravel our virtual reality such that a week, month or year to us might occupy the Supreme Programmer for a few of their seconds or minutes. Presumably it is the broad-brush evolving big picture of interest, not the nitty-gritty second-by-second details of your boring life. 

Then too there are some people to whom the idea of a Simulated Universe and a Supreme Programmer is deeply disturbing. As one person wrote to me, “If I felt I was a puppet on a string, I might just give up and fall in a heap.” Of course the puppet-on-a-string hands-on character in a video game analogy is just one possibility. It’s also quite possible that you are left to your own evolutionary fate with no direct interference or manipulation by the Supreme Programmer other than he / she / it set the initial parameters and then just stood aside as an interested but non-interfering observer.

Actually I find it disturbing and quite incredible that some people might be upset by the Simulated Universe proposal (or any other state of the cosmos for that matter). As one person put it to me, “I can cope with an indifferent universe but not with a malicious one”, the idea being that a Supreme Programmer must of necessity be malicious. The more positive view might be that the Supreme Programmer, the puppeteer pulling the strings, might be pulling your strings in a nice way; in a beneficial way, so that you can and do enjoy “the beauty of the natural world, friendship, music, and the taste of good food, wine and beer!”  Apart from the Supreme Programmer, there actually really is a puppeteer (of sorts) that you dance to – that puppeteer is called society and society pulls your strings! Your days, weeks, months, and years are full of society telling you to do this and don’t do that, from formal legalities to conventional mores. When society says “jump”, you ask, “how high?” 

The Universe simulated or otherwise just is. The Universe is what it is. The Universe is whatever it is. There’s nothing you can do about the state of the Universe. Therefore, cross it off your “I’m concerned about this” list. There’s no point in fretting over what you have no control over.

If the Universe really might be malicious, if someone or something is yanking your chain, and that possibility disturbs you, then it is in your interest to show it otherwise, or if it is, you owe it to yourself to come to terms with that and then move on to newer and better concepts to occupy your mind.

My Personal Ongoing Worldview: Part Two

Everybody has his or her own particular worldview, philosophy, a set of truisms, a concept of reality, and overall, a degree of certainty on just how the world works. Equally true, that worldview evolves as you grow older. Santa Clause was probably part of your worldview when you were five years old, but unlikely at fifty-five. I’m no exception to the rule, so here are my latest ‘set-in-cement’ thoughts on how the world operates.

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

HUMAN AFFAIRS

* There is no God or supernatural deity (or deities) of any kind. Religion can however serve useful purposes, not the least of which it keeps some percentage of the human population employed.

* As suggested earlier, in an infinite cosmos there is no need for a deity of any sort. Therefore it is rather improbable that there is no Heaven or Hell (or associated places) since these must represent actual physical geographies. That being the case, we would have probably discovered them by now.

* No deities, specifically no Christian God does mean that there ain’t no end times, no second coming, no apocalypse or Armageddon, no rapture, no end-of-days or end times. In fact, all religious texts, all those allegedly that are divinely inspired, are pure bovine fertilizer.

* There is no before-the-fact meaning or purpose to your existence other than what you yourself give it. There is nobody from ‘on high’ tapping you on the shoulder or whispering into your subconscious mind that the following (fill in the blank) is your destiny or ultimate fate. 

* There is no such thing as a separate-and-apart part of you termed a soul, spirit, or any other related concept associated with a soul.

* You have no free will. That follows on from my belief that causality (a predetermined clockwork universe) rules absolutely – yesterday, today, and tomorrow. However, free will, even if illusional, serves a useful social purpose forming the general foundation for humanity’s legal system – you are responsible for your actions.

* Death is not something to be afraid of. You experience dying, but not death since once dead, you have no existence and you need to have an existence, you have to be alive, in order to experience something, anything, even death. So you never experience death, only that which is up to but not including death.

* Death is final – there is no afterlife. Post-death is an identical state to pre-life or pre-conception. You get one go per universe between conception and death – make the best of it and enjoy. However, if there are an infinity of universes in space and/or in time, then you can expect to be reincarnated both as yourself and with variations on the theme of yourself (i.e. – you might marry someone else as an example). Perhaps, just perhaps, that’s the real meaning behind the phrases of life everlasting (or everlasting life) or eternal life (or life eternal).

* Given the wide range of highly improbable human characteristics – human uniqueness such as a bipedal gait and high IQ – and extremely rapid rise to a state of having culture and ‘civilization’, the odds are extremely high that human origins and evolution were all genetically engineered by outsiders – aliens for lack of a better word.

* It’s a sweeping generalization I know, but the philosophy of the average human is “it’s all about me. I and my needs come first.”

* If the human species was created, it was a very bad mistake on someone or something’s part. If the human species was an unplanned accident of evolution, Mother Nature screwed up big-time. If one is honest, one would be very hard pressed to name another terrestrial species that has caused more unwarranted death, destruction and overall suffering to all and sundry than Homo sapiens. To be honest, while I can’t speak for the rest of the cosmos, we are surely the scum of the earth and the cosmos should rejoice if we cause our own extinction. It would be well deserved.

* Behind every mountain of mythology lies a molehill of reality. So, as an example, there are mountains of mythological deities; there is a molehill that acquaints these deities as actual realities, the reality being flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials.

* Probability is a human concept with relevance to human worldviews but which has no relevance or application outside of the human experience, or perhaps that should be extended to any self-aware life forms. The real world that’s totally divorced from human affairs and the human species, deals with certainties, not probabilities. But what about quantum physics, surely that’s probability personified. But when you read all about quantum physics, sure you get probability this and probability that, but the references are all with respect to observers and measurements – in other words, with respect to human worldviews.

* Philosophy is like jazz – 95% of it is crap, but what’s good is very, very good. [At least jazz comes out vastly better percentage-wise than rap, hip-hop, heavy metal, ‘music’ which is 100% crap.]

* For obvious reasons, empty what’s full; fill what’s empty; scratch where it itches.

* Finally, you may have to grow old, but there’s no requirement to grow up!

There’s No Free Will

Just about every human on Planet Earth holds near and dear to their worldview that they have control over their own lives, or at the very least control over their own mind. Even if you live in a dictatorship or you are a slave or a prisoner you have free will of the mind. You can’t go to jail for what you’re thinking. But wishing or believing or faith doesn’t make it so and there are many scenarios that render your alleged free will to the state of an illusion, if not a delusion.

Here are a few reasons why your alleged ‘free will’ is in fact an illusion at best; a delusion at worst.

* We’re all simulated beings living in a virtual reality obeying the commands of the master computer software program. Characters in a video game do what they are programmed to do, no more and no less.

* God lied! All our strings are being pulled by outside evil (satanic, demonic, etc.) vs. good (angelic) forces. Humans are trapped in the middle of this tug-of-war, mere pawns for the larger forces at work. But as someone once told me, “I have free will because I take responsibility for my own actions”. Well actually that’s just those goody-goody-two-shoes angels pulling your strings. And if you argue in court say that “the devil made me do it”, well that’s probably spot on the case. The devil should be on trial, not you!

* Make of this what you will, but many people who report having involuntary visitations by otherworldly entities, be they described as aliens, shadow ‘people’, beings from other dimensions or parallel realities, etc. note that they were compelled against their will to carry out the wishes or instructions of these entities who have complete, total, absolute control over their human victims. If you have free will, it apparently can be overridden, but then that’s known from case studies in hypnoses. 

* Classical physics rules! Cause and effect rules! Causality rules, OK? All the laws, principles and relationships of classical physics were established and set in motion at the moment of creation (the Big Bang event) and all follows as clockwork (Newton’s point of view) from that in a totally deterministic way as far into the future as you care to calculate. The clockwork, causality rules universe of which you are a part, means no free will for you.

* Quantum physics rules too! Quantum physics apparently has no causality (Einstein disagreed) which immediately sets my teeth on edge, but that’s another matter. Quantum physics is expressed in probabilities, like either/or. Since your brain which houses your mind isn’t exempt from quantum physics (nothing is exempt anytime, anywhere, anyhow), all those billions of either/or quantum physics reactions collectively can give rise to all the apparent free will choices you apparently have at your command. It’s all one massive superposition of state after another after another as your mind lurches from one decision to the next. But whether it’s one either/or or the sum total of billions of either/or probabilities, the possibilities are still finite. You may not do the same thing twice in identical scenarios, but that’s not your free will, just the coming to the fore of one of those random probabilities that result from all those either/or possibilities inherent in quantum physics that hold sway over your mind, which, if truth be known, is comprised of the same matter and energy regimes that are the realm of physics, classical or quantum. 

* Your body cells, tissues, organs, organ systems on up the line are all on biochemical autopilot. No free will need apply. So why should your brain, housing your mind, be an exception to the rule? Your mind is not a something which exists independently of your body.

* Your ‘conscious’ decisions are by-products of what’s already happening within your subconscious. Our subconscious mind comes to a decision before we are consciously aware of it as has been demonstrated by actual experimentation.

* If you accept the probability of a Megaverse, a conglomerate of the Multiverse, with each individual universe having associated Parallel Universes and an infinite space (volume) and time (thus eliminating the awkward questions of ‘what’s beyond’ and ‘what was before’) then every possible timeline and history and scenario has happened – an infinite number of times. An infinite number of you have made every possible decision you can possibly make, compatible with the laws, relationships and principles of physics, an infinite number of times. How do you reconcile free will with that?

* Any competent neuroscientist worthy of their salt and status can stimulate parts of your brain using electromagnetic (EM) energy and get a physiological response, like your fingers twitching, ditto your arms and legs flapping like puppets on a string, your head turns and your posture changes - all grist for the neuroscientist’s mill. What you experience under the EM stimulation is the urge to do it (say tap your toe) and then you do it but you do not get the urge to, nor perform the action, voluntarily or willingly. Someone else, in this case the neuroscientist, is in control. That applies equally to your emotions as well as your movements. Stimulate this brainy bit and you cry; here and you laugh; somewhere else will hit your guilt complex, etc. What makes you, you, is just being reduced to the basics of electrical signals.

Conclusion: You are a part of life, the Universe and everything, or, to shorten things, a part of Mother Nature. Mother Nature operates on a select number of non-negotiable laws, principles and relationships, starting with the most basic of elementary particles and forces and working on up the line. No correspondence will be entered into or answered by Mother Nature. As such, you dance to Mother Nature’s tune. Do not attempt to change the tune and adjust reality. She controls the horizontal; She controls the vertical; She controls all that you see and do. Mother Nature is a bitch, but there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.  Myth busted!

But, and there’s nearly always a ‘but’, while ‘free will’ may well be, and probably is, an illusion (or delusion), it does have practical applications in the real world (like forcing one to be accountable for their actions) and thus is a concept unlikely to bite the dust anytime soon. It’s akin to the notion that God may not, and probably does not exist, He forms a useful function in society by keeping a lot of people here on Terra Firma employed!

P.S. If there is such a thing as free will, why is there such an obesity epidemic? You’d think one of the last things people would want to look like is blubber personified. But what do I know? Maybe roly-poly is the latest in body fashion statements!

Further Reading:

Harris, Sam; Free Will; Free Press, New York; 2012:

A Trilogy of Universes: Part Four

There is a trilogy of possible universes we inhabit – Supernatural, Natural and Simulated. There are also several universal beliefs that nearly all humans, all cultures, over all of history share. Belief in these universals usually extends to the present day. Can the later assist in determining which of the three possible universes we might live in, is the one we do live in?

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

Final Scores and Summary

If, and only if, you accept the reality of those human belief systems, those universals, then the following are the pluses and minuses that are suggestive of what sort of universe we inhabit.

*Natural Universe: The natural universe, the universe where Mother Nature rules the roost, can easily account for any and all creations – from the universe through to galaxies, stars, planets, life, intelligent life, and human life. Deities can be attributed to highly advanced technologically inclined extraterrestrials – ‘ancient astronauts’. Free will can be achieved thanks to quantum physics. Unfortunately, universals such as an afterlife, a home for afterlife retirees, ghosts, and variations on a theme of reincarnation cannot be accommodated in Mother Nature’s realm. Score: 4 ½ out of 11. 

*Simulated Universe: With the sole exception of free will, a Simulated Universe can account for, well, life the universe and everything. Score: 10 out of 11.

*Supernatural Universe: With the exception of ghosts, a Supernatural Universe can accommodate everything regarding life, the universe and everything universal. Score: 10 out of 11.

It seems to be a tossup between a Supernatural Universe (with supernatural deities) and a Simulated Universe (with flesh-and-blood computer programmers). If you’re the end product, does it matter much if it’s a god or a programmer that’s responsible? It’s “In the beginning God created” vs. “In the beginning the Supreme Programmer created”. Anyway, the choice boils down to free will vs. ghosts. There’s no way you can verify you have free will. As the saying goes, “you have to believe you have free will; you have no choice in the matter.” Both a Natural Universe ruled by classical (cause-and-effect) physics and a Simulated Universe can remove free will from any consideration. Ghosts on the other hand have been seen and recorded for thousands of years by millions of people. Ghosts have a greater reality quotient than free will. Therefore, I have to give an extra tick to a Simulated Universe scenario which can give you a believable ghost, but not free will vs. a minus-tick to a Supernatural Universe which cannot give you a believable ghost but a free will that cannot be verified.

So, when crunch comes crunch, if you want to accommodate all of the universals that humans hold near and dear to them, then a Simulated Universe is the way to bet the family farm on being the true universe, at least as far as we are concerned. The sort of universe the simulators inhabit is beyond our comprehension, in much the same way that a character in one of our video games cannot grasp what our universe is like.

If however you reject the Simulated Universe scenario, then you slide on down the steep slope to the Supernatural Universe option. If you reject the Supernatural Universe, then it’s down the slippery slope to the Simulated Universe. If you reject both in favour of the Natural Universe, then you have a lot of enigmas that require some very deep thought and explanations.

So what’s the point of all this? I mean, regardless of which universe you (and the rest of us) actually reside in, there’s not a damn thing you can do about it. If you live in a Natural Universe, yet really desire a Supreme Being and an afterlife – tough! If you really exist in a Simulated Universe but are uncomfortable with the unknown pulling your strings – tough! Still, though powerless you might be, still it’s interesting to have a firm idea of what your universe actually is. It’s relatively easier to come to terms with the known, than the unknown, even if you’re not altogether pleased with that knowledge. 

#Of course if you throw into the mix all terrestrial life forms that have a reasonable advanced set of wetware (mammals and birds say) then the equation shifts drastically to the natural point of view. I’m sure my two cats don’t have a cat deity and their worldview is all things natural.

A Trilogy of Universes: Part Three

There is a trilogy of possible universes we inhabit – Supernatural, Natural and Simulated. There are also several universal beliefs that nearly all humans, all cultures, over all of history share. Belief in these universals usually extends to the present day. Can the later assist in determining which of the three possible universes we might live in, is the one we do live in?

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

Reincarnation

Lastly, another near universal concept is reincarnation. Some people believe they have led previous lives. Some cultures suggest you can be reincarnated as another life form. Nearly everyone has experienced a sensation of Déjà vu. 

*Natural Universe: You cannot have a memory of a previous life or lives since neither your father’s sperm and your mother’s egg could contain a genetic memory of your previous life or lives, so at conception, your conception, you could not have been blessed with any genetic inheritance of a memory of another you that lived once upon a time (in a galaxy far, far away). For a similar reason, you could not be the reincarnation of a previous life form. There is only one ‘you’ and that ‘you’ did not originate from any other life forms apart from your biological parents. As for Déjà vu, that would have to be coincidence. A natural universe rules out any versions of reincarnation.  No points awarded in this case.

*Simulated Universe: If your name is Joe Blow, and you’re just software, then there’s a command within that software that you come to that says something like “end subroutine program Joe Blow” – Joe Blow kicks the bucket. But, then there’s another command which says “start subroutine program Joe Blow reincarnate” – Joe Blow gets reassembled into another simulated identity. Easy! One full point has to be awarded here for the logical possibility that the Supreme Programmer or Supreme Player likes to subject their simulated characters to perform as various identities, sort of like father, like son, or like human, like cockroach.

*Supernatural Universe: Some religions do suggest that upon attaining the state of death, some part of what was you, becomes a you again, but in another body, which may or may not be of the same species as the one you just died as. If, presumably, this transition from life to death to life (not afterlife) is guided or determined by supernatural deities, then I guess such a belief is rational, since a supernatural deity can transcend the Natural Universe or the natural order of things. And, who’s to say whether a transition from life to afterlife is more logical than a transition from life to another life. One point if you please!

Shape-Shifters

Like ghosts, shape-shifters and shape-shifting, of certain deities, humans and creatures, and a belief in same, is a universal shared by all cultures throughout recorded history, albeit less so in modern times than ancient times.

*Natural Universe: While shape-shifting isn’t unknown in the natural world, it’s a slow process – a seed can’t transform into a plant; a tadpole into a frog, in seconds, and in the natural world it’s a one-way street. The shape-shifters throughout human history cannot be natural since transitions tend to be rapid and reversible. However, they just might be extraterrestrial since we have no idea what might be biologically possible on other worlds. Still, without proof of aliens and that alien ability, terrestrial (natural) shape-shifters have to be given the thumbs down, but, given the (unlikely) possibility, ½ point.

*Simulated Universe: We’ve all seen shape-shifting undertaken by characters in the movies or in TV episodes. It can be made to look pretty convincing, in fact, given the state of the CGI art; it can be made to look absolutely convincing. If a computer programmer wants their creation(s) to shape-shift, so be it. One full point for the possibility has to be the order of the day.

*Supernatural Universe: Well, in mythology, various deities, such as Zeus, shape-shift to their heart’s (and private parts) content. God and/or Jesus may not have shape-shifted within Biblical texts, but they probably could have had they wanted to. That’s just one of those superpowers deities have. Again, one point is awarded based on the relevant literature.

Hybrid Creatures

While now relegated to our past societies and cultures, hybrid creatures, either animal-animal (like the dragon or griffin) or animal-human composites (like the centaur or Minotaur), were in ancient times held universal, and in fact based on prehistoric carvings, extend way back before recorded history. Even on tiny, isolated, remote Easter Island you get images depicting hybrid creatures, in this case birdmen predominate.  

*Natural Universe: There’s no biology, no natural selection, no operations of normal evolutionary genetics that can account for the dragon, the griffin, the sphinx, Pegasus, the Minotaur, the centaur, and literally thousands more hybrid creatures that are found and described in ancient literature, depicted in ancient art, manufactured as ancient statues – what tends to be termed today mythologies from around the world. However, composite creatures produced or manufactured via artificial selection is a different hybrid horse of mixed colours. Since such artificial selection techniques, advanced genetic engineering, was beyond the abilities of the ancients, the only explanation, assuming hybrids in our natural universe, has to be technologically advanced aliens. So, ½ point here too.

*Simulated Universe: If software can simulate a human; if software can simulate a lion; then software can simulate a sphinx! As in the case of shape-shifting, well, one can simulate a hybrid creature via sophisticated computer generated software. So, if you believe there was, once upon a time, a sphinx, then one point awarded for your belief, since that belief can be vindicated via a Simulated Universe.

*Supernatural Universe: If mythology is just somebody else’s supernatural religion, then the supernatural is chock-a-block saturated with hybrid creatures. The issue of ‘why’ the need for such entities isn’t at issue here; they just are. Since mythologies record their existence, who am I to doubt this universal facet that humans, at least once upon a time, found credible? - One point.

Universal Flood

*Natural Universe: All ancient societies, for obvious reasons, settled first near water, usually rivers. Rivers flood, even if the source of the floodwaters was way upstream and not local rain. So, it’s not surprising that there would be embellished tales of catastrophic floods, all the better when told down through the generations with a morality twist. So, local floods can get thumbs up, but one big global deluge is not possible by any sort of geography known to mankind, so that gets thumbs down. All up, ½ point for an each way bet.

*Simulated Universe: A 100% global flood is certainly possible to simulate. One could probably design a video game called ‘Noah and the Ark’ or equivalent from some other culture. If you accept a deluge that was worldwide, then a simulation of same has got to be under consideration. One point has to be awarded for the logic.

*Supernatural Universe: Well, there are no shortages of massive flood events that were triggered by the wrath of the gods, and not just the one related in the Book of Genesis. Science can not account for forty days and nights of rain (and variations on that theme), but in the La-La-Land of supernatural occurrences, well, the Heavens knows, anything goes. One point if you accept the realm of the miraculous.

To be continued….

A Trilogy of Universes: Part Two

There is a trilogy of possible universes we inhabit – Supernatural, Natural and Simulated. There are also several universal beliefs that nearly all humans, all cultures, over all of history share. Belief in these universals usually extends to the present day. Can the later assist in determining which of the three possible universes we might live in, is the one we do live in?

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

Deities

One such universal are deities (or aliens misinterpreted as deities).

*Natural Universe: Deities are almost by definition supernatural since they all have powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men (and women). However, it’s perfectly logical to have a natural universe containing extraterrestrials with advanced technology. Advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, the supernatural, if your level of sophistication is below that level of that advanced technology (what would a Neanderthal make of a jet aircraft flying overhead). To ancient human societies, ‘ancient astronauts’ would be deities, even more so if these extraterrestrials pawned themselves off as deities for various reasons. Because extraterrestrials violate nothing in the Natural Universe, yet the existence of extraterrestrials hasn’t been verified to date, just ½ point can be awarded.

*Simulated Universe: The deity in question here is the software programmer. Though not an actual deity, the end products created by the programmer, if given enough sophistication, might worship as a deity this unknown creator they envision as having to exist in order to account for them. One point awarded.

*Supernatural Universe: Here deities are really real deities, real deities strutting their real deity stuff for all and sundry to see and appreciate. So, it’s only natural that their existence should be acknowledged. One full point awarded.

Free Will

Probably the most universal of the universals is the concept of free will. Very few humans would deny that they are in control of their own fate, destiny, etc. They might be subjected to the laws of the land; to the laws, principles and relationships of physics, chemistry and biology; to the whims of others; but ultimately you yourself pick and choose – or do you. Let’s just say that philosophers and metaphysics professors have been arguing that point for thousands of years.

*Natural Universe: There are two possibilities here. Firstly, at the time of the creation of the universe, all the laws, relationships and principles of, ultimately physics, were set in motion. Everything from that point onwards was fixed. Determination ruled. Causality ruled – absolutely. From first principles, the future, to as many decimal places as you’d care to measure, was fixed – absolutely. As such, you were predetermined as long ago as the Big Bang – 13.7 billion years ago. Therefore, you have no free will. Classical Physics rules, OK? However, part of physics is known as quantum physics, the physics that rules the roost of the microscopic. Apparently, causality doesn’t rule the roost in all things quantum, only probability. Therefore, there’s wriggle room, not certainty, and you can exhibit free will. Score ½ point for an each way bet. .

*Simulated Universe: Unless software is way more sophisticated than I dreamed possible, you dance to someone else’s tune. There’s no free will if you’re a virtual being. There are actually two scenarios here, but one outcome. Either simulation parameters were set at the Alpha Point and the enter “run program” button pushed, or else there’s an active ‘player’ who manipulates events as they unfold, like someone would in a video game or in a pilot training simulator. Either way, it’s zero points being the order of the day if you’re into free will.

*Supernatural Universe: In the monotheistic religions, and for that matter in the polytheistic religions, free will tends to be the order of the day. You are free to believe or not believe; free to sin or not to sin; free to rule your own roost and pay whatever piper needs to be paid accordingly. Score one full point here. 

Afterlife

Another universal concept is an afterlife. Part of your existence in the here and now will survive your clinical death and decay.

*Natural Universe: There’s no evidence that any part of you that was part of you, when you were alive, remains a part of you after you die. You are 100% composed of matter and energy, and all of that matter and energy can be accounted for post death, because of the various laws of conservation (matter/energy can neither be created no destroyed but only changed in form). Unfortunately for you, those changes in form go from the highly complex to the less complex (that’s what decay is), the exact opposite of what is required to form life, even an afterlife. No one has ever witnessed a newly deceased body or the transition from a dying body to a dead body, with any associated phenomena that would suggest that part of that body’s life essence survived. If the living you is 120 pounds of matter and energy; and the dead you is 120 pounds of matter and energy, then there’s nothing left over that survives and goes to La-La-Land. No points can be awarded here.

*Simulated Universe: If your name is Joe Blow, and you’re just software, then there’s a command within that software that you come to that says something like “end subroutine program Joe Blow” – Joe Blow kicks the bucket. But, then there’s another command which says “start subroutine program Joe Blow afterlife” – Joe Blow gets resurrected into another simulated realm. Easy! One full point has to be awarded here for the logical possibility that the Supreme Programmer or Supreme Player likes to subject their simulated characters to perform in various scenarios, sort of like on earth scenario as it is in heaven scenario.

*Supernatural Universe: Any and all texts that have any relationship to verifying a Supernatural Universe, like the Bible, are full of references to everlasting life, life everlasting, eternal life, life eternal, immortality, in fact an afterlife. Somehow after you die a biological death you get resurrected into a supernatural realm, ‘alive’ and kicking and maybe screaming (just depending on location). One full point has to be awarded here.

One general question, what happens to all those artificial body bits in the afterlife – tooth fillings, artificial heart valves or pacemakers, metal hip or knee joints, etc. For that matter, if you’re a ghost, do you retain those artificial bits and pieces?

Afterlife Location

If the afterlife is universal, then an afterlife location is also universal, from Hades to Hel to Hell; the Spirit World, Valhalla, Heaven, etc.

*Natural Universe: If there can be no afterlife in a natural universe, then it makes no sense that a natural universe would contain geographies that house those blessed with a nonexistent afterlife. In any event, no such afterlife location has ever been discovered and pinpointed either up there or down here. No points awarded here either.

*Simulated Universe: If you have a simulated afterlife, then you need to have a simulated location(s) in which to put down your simulated afterlife roots. One full point given.

*Supernatural Universe: The Supernatural literature is full of locations where you get to spend your immortal life everlasting existence. There are no promises on whether or not you’ll be a happy afterlife camper however. Anyway, another full point has to follow-on.

Ghosts

There’s the paranormal phenomena of ghosts, spirits, phantoms, wraiths, spectres, call them what you will, but a rose by any other name… Whatever they’re called, they appear to verify the existence of life after death. Ghosts have been observed and in general an accepted phenomenon by all peoples, all societies, and all cultures since recorded history began and probably even before that that requires an explanation. However, there’s one fly in the ointment. There are observations of non-living ‘ghosts’, things like phantom trains (the Abe Lincoln funeral train), trucks (‘Phantom 309’) and cars, planes and of course ships (like the Flying Dutchman); also structures, even islands that no longer exist (though the latter two are probably best explained as in all probability mirages). They’ve got to be accommodated too.

*Natural Universe: There is no physical, chemical or biological mechanism that can transform a clinically dead flesh-and-blood body, the kind that made you, you, into a physical, chemical and biological ghost. Ghosts have to be made of matter and energy since they are seen, heard and interact with the environment. They have to be biological since they are animated and behave like a living thing. If ghosts are really real, then we do not exist in a natural universe. If ghosts, including phantom trains, do exist in the natural world then they are the sole product of the human mind and all associated evidence (photographs, etc.) are either fraudulent or have prosaic explanations. Because an all-in-the-mind explanation is possible, albeit unlikely IMHO, ½ point is awarded.

*Simulated Universe: In a Simulated Universe, everything has a ghost of a chance! Software can create ghosts, fully clothed ghosts, as well as phantom trains. Or, on the other hand, ghostly images could be just the result of previously deleted software, which was only 99.9% deleted. Residues remain. The ‘delete’ button isn’t 100% efficient. Whatever scenario you choose, its one full point awarded.

*Supernatural Universe: The problems here are several. What’s the rationale for creating phantom trains for example? - None that I can see. Now assuming something supernatural happens and a dead person becomes an animated person that’s not quite all there, a ghost, then you’d expect that ghost to be starkers – absolutely naked as a newborn baby. It’s the biological entity that dies, not their attire. For that matter, if you’re a ghost, do you retain those artificial bits and pieces, those artificial body bits like tooth fillings, artificial heart valves or pacemakers, metal hip or knee joints, etc. That’s part of your attire too. If you see a ghost with a peg leg, something’s fishy. Because of these issues, no points can be awarded. 

To be continued….

A Trilogy of Universes: Part One

There is a trilogy of possible universes we inhabit – Supernatural, Natural and Simulated. There are also several universal beliefs that nearly all humans, all cultures, over all of history share. Belief in these universals usually extends to the present day. Can the later assist in determining which of the three possible universes we might live in, is the one we do live in?

Possible Universes

*Natural Universe: Once upon a time there was this really Big Bang! The Natural Universe was born. The Natural Universe is really real reality. This is the universe of science, the universe where Mother Nature is Queen, the universe that nearly all of us think of when we think of the universe we inhabit. It’s the universe of death and taxes; of cause-and-effect. But it’s not the only option.

*Simulated Universe: In the beginning the Supreme Programmer created Virtual Reality! We’re all familiar with computer/software generated simulations from video games to educational/training simulators. Mother Nature isn’t in charge. It’s the programmer, the software, the player who pulls the strings. Cause and effect still rules, but it’s a universe where anything and everything can happen; the laws, principles and relationships of science that hold firm in the Natural Universe are irrelevant here - Software rules. The upshot is that we are the puppets. We ‘live’ in someone else’s Simulated Universe. Our reality is virtual reality. That’s of course if you accept the possibility of a simulated universe and simulators and appropriated sophisticated software – but if you don’t, well that takes care of that. But, let’s keep an open mind.

*Supernatural Universe: In the beginning, God (or some supernatural facsimile thereof) established Life, the Supernatural Universe and Everything! A Supernatural Universe is a universe that contains one or more supernatural deities. Magic and miracles and other violations of the laws, relationships and principles of science can and do happen. There’s no hard and fast causality. Whims happen. There might be science, but deities can alter the rules anytime and place they choose. That’s why it’s SUPER-natural. That’s of course if you accept the possibility of supernatural deities existing – and billions do – but if you don’t, well that takes care of that. But again, let’s keep an open mind and see where it takes us.

Either we life in a Supernatural Universe filled with one or more deities, or we live in the real Natural Universe (that’s actually a minority worldview since greater than 50% of the human population believe in a god(s) and the supernatural#), or we live in a Simulated Universe which could be wetware (yours or someone else’s) or software (human or alien). If the latter that Simulated Universe, a creation of wetware or software, probably ultimately resides in a really real Natural Universe, one that’s beyond our grasp. It’s quite possible although to have, like a series of Russian dolls, a Simulated Universe within a Simulated Universe within a Simulated Universe, etc. That aside, the question is how to decide between the three possibilities.

Within the sum total of human beliefs, there are certain universals shared by all cultures at all times. Scholars tend to call these beliefs mythology or religion or the supernatural or paranormal. Whatever the label, it’s difficult to totally dismiss these beliefs as superstitious nonsense given the universality of those beliefs. Something is going on – where’s there’s smoke there’s fire, or as I like to phrase it, behind every mountain of mythology lies a molehill of fact. So, accepting that we have some factual molehills, what are these universal beliefs? Well, they tend to centre around creation for starters. But creation, the Alpha, and its counterpart, destruction, the Omega, be it of the cosmos, the Earth, life or human beings, is only one a several universals that are across the board in every human culture from every human era. You have near universal beliefs in the natural order of things, in deities, free will, in an afterlife, in a place to spend an afterlife, and manifestations of those who are living an afterlife – ghosts for want of a better word – reincarnation, as well as shape-shifters, hybrid creatures and the universal flood. With one exception, hybrid creatures, belief in these universals usually extends to the present day, though perhaps with less intensity, or some, like shape-shifting, are now relatively minor compared with that ‘once upon a time’ era.

Now one has to plot those eleven universals against the three possible universes (Natural, Simulated and Supernatural) and see if one kind of universe best supports those human cultural universals or beliefs – creation/destruction; the natural order; deities; free will; afterlife; afterlife location; ghosts; reincarnation; shape-shifters; hybrid creatures and the universal flood.

Creation

We all know about Alpha Creations, even The Creation. “In the beginning…” We all know about Omega Ends too, as in Armageddon, etc. But the interesting bit is that Alpha Creation and Omega Destruction isn’t a one-off with nothingness on either side. Cycles are the norm. Someone is born; someone dies: repeat. Stars and planets are born; stars and planets die: repeat. Even in theory, our Natural Universe, born of the Big Bang, could die in the Big Crunch. But the Big Crunch (end times of a contracting universe) can turn into the next Big Bang (beginnings of a new expanding universe). Big Bang creation; Big Crunch destruction: repeat. Many cultures around the world have echoed this cyclic universe theme of birth, death, rebirth, death, re-rebirth, death: repeat, repeat, repeat. Even in the Christian religion Armageddon gives rise to a new heaven and a new earth. It’s all much the same as going from the 31^st of December to the 1^st of January.

*Natural Universe: So where does creation fit into a natural universe? Well once upon a time, roughly 13.7 billions of years ago, there was this Big Bang, the creation of matter and energy, space and time – maybe. There might have been a before-the-Big-Bang; in fact I’m personally certain of it. In any event, the Big Bang event isn’t an intelligently inspired creation, but if the Big Bang spawned life, the universe and everything – ah, life, and life can begat intelligent life and intelligent life can create, which might then lead to creating concepts of creations, deities, an afterlife, a supernatural and a simulated universe. Because science has no difficulty coming to terms with creation events in the Natural Universe, one full point awarded.

*Simulated Universe: Some might consider a simulated universe/world a supernatural universe/world since it was created by a creator(s) and in it anything goes. If a deity can do anything (i.e. – miracles), so can wetware or software. Still, a Simulated Universe can create the illusions of any and all kinds of creations. One full point awarded.

*Supernatural Universe: Or conversely, some might consider a supernatural deity/creator filled universe/world a simulated universe/world, but that logic doesn’t follow of necessity though it might be so. So maybe it’s best for clarity to keep the supernatural universe/world and the simulated universe/world concepts separate and apart. If there is such an entity as a supernatural deity that likes to mix it up in the kitchen, creating recipes for a universe, and life in that universe, then one has to logically admit that given the premise, the Supernatural Universe can be a party to and create all that’s within, even the Supernatural Universe itself. So, one point awarded here too.

The Natural Order

We all know about the natural order of things, and so did all ancient cultures and societies. The natural order may have been the providence of the gods, but there was a natural order. Birth - death, male - female, rocks fall down – steam rises, fire hot – ice cold, sunrise – sunset, water wet – dust dry, lightning first – then thunder, cause – effect, predictability if not certainty. Or as the introduction to the TV show “Ben Casey” put it: “Man, Woman, Birth, Death, Infinity”. It would not be the natural order of things if each and every night there was a full Moon visible after years of recordkeeping revealed otherwise. You don’t wake up one morning to see a purple Sun with green poke-a-dots imprinted on the surface. Of, and even more interesting, the Sun rises in the North and sets in the South, or half-way around the globe, vice versa! That would be way out of keeping with the natural order.

*Natural Universe: Almost by definition, the Natural Universe contains the natural order of things. One point is given for the natural order, being the order of the day, in the Natural Universe.

*Simulated Universe: Computer software can easily be created or programmed to say simulate Mars moving slowing through the night sky and doing its once up a time mysterious retrograde loop-the-loop motion. If Mother Nature can do it, a computer can simulate it, and a lot more besides – things not part of what you’d call the natural order. One point has to be given.

*Supernatural Universe: There maybe a natural order to things but that’s because the gods created the master clock and they keep it well oiled and wound and running smoothly, as long as they are happy little gods. But when the natural order starts falling apart, the rain fails to arrive, your local dormant volcano suddenly blows its top, and the herds of migrating food supply (say the buffalo to the Amerindians) fail to show up, then the gods are not happy and so they must be pacified with a sacrifice or two or two hundred. In fact, to keep the gods onside and forestall any wrath, they have to get their proper due, worship, sacrifices, etc. in every way that’s proper, all the time. Again, one point awarded since a Supernatural Universe too can contain the natural order.

To be continued….

Ultimate Purpose, Meaning and Destiny: Part Two

If there is a common theme within religions and associated philosophies, it’s one of trying to position oneself in the broad context of life, the universe and everything as something special. You have somehow been tapped on the shoulder with a special and unique mission or destiny, or a special purpose or meaning that you have to carry during the time of your existence, something that places you uniquely above the rest of life, the universe and everything. Hogwash!

Author’s note: for the sake of brevity, I intend to use the acronym for self-awareness or consciousness as SAC; for the overlapping concepts of destiny, fate, function, meaning, purpose or reason as DFMPR. That should save a bit of space!

Continued from yesterday’s blog…

If something is created, and that something has a DFMPR for being created in the first place, that implies an act of intelligence, though that level of intelligence doesn’t have to be very high. Ants create an anthill out of dirt or sand for a purpose (shelter); some birds will gather up pretty baubles and lay them out to be admired by a prospective mate, an artistic work that has a purpose (sex and reproduction); some primates fashion sticks out of leafy twigs to probe for termites, again for a purpose (food).

Back to you: were you created for a DFMPR – are you a tool as it were, designed with an ultimate DFMPR in mind, and if so who or what created that DFMPR? There are two possibilities, not mutually exclusive.

* You are your own tool. You create your own DFMPR.

* You are someone else’s tool. Parents, teachers, other authority figures help give your life DFMPR, like do the dishes; mow the lawn; do your homework; voting is compulsory (this being written in the rather undemocratic country of Australia); pay your taxes; don’t drink and drive; don’t be late for work; spend, spend, spend; be fruitful and multiply; thou shall have no other gods before me, etc. Of course it doesn’t have to be an authority figure. Maybe a close friend suggests your DFMPR lies in being a musician. Decades later, you’re a rock & roll superstar!

Your mind is perfectly free to accept or reject the demands or your externally imposed DFMPR, like wash the dishes or practice, practice, practice your music, as long as you are willing to accept the consequences if you exert your free will in the negative. Ultimately, you, or your mind is in control and that’s where the buck stops.

In the case of the anthill, the artistic pattern of the baubles, the termite gathering stick, these are someone else’s tools (ants, birds, primates), obviously, since they didn’t create themselves. They are creations from within the mind of their ant, bird, primate creators, but via a hardwired form of intelligence – instinct.

What humans tend to create is more a soft-wired flexible sort of intelligence; true intelligence as it was – creating outside of the instinct box. You don’t fashion atomic bombs, or financial markets, or shoes, or a theory of evolution by hardwired instinct.

But the line between animal hardwired and human soft-wired ‘intelligence/instinct’ isn’t all that neat and tidy. Apart from housing/shelter, many an animal ‘society’ has by definition a social structure, a political system (leaders), a division of labour, and has ‘invented’ agriculture and harvesting and animal husbandry, even slavery, warfare and genocide. I’m thinking primarily, but not exclusively, of the ant or bee/wasp kingdoms.

However, there is a bottom line here. Things with DFMPR, by instinct or by pure intelligent design, stem ultimately from the brain, mind, or wetware, whatever you wish to call it. There is no nebulous other factor behind an anthill or wasps nest; creating a new dance step or meal recipe.

The human mind does differ I suspect in at least one highly significant way – humans, via their minds, envelop themselves in a wider worldview, both in time and in space, vis-à-vis the animals, and ponder the meaning of ‘why’.

Animals, my cats for example, have a sense of who (friend or foe; prey or predator); what (I know what that is, it’s my chair); where (I know where my food dish or litter box or the door is); even when (their biological clocks are damn accurate, but their sense of when doesn’t extend much past ‘right now’), but lack the intellectual ability to ponder why or how. Animals live day-to-day, even moment-to-moment, without a sense of mystery (they have no concept of whodunits), which isn’t to say they don’t have a concept of the unknown – they do have curiosity and like to explore (is there food just over that hill), but DFMPR are foreign ideas to them. Things just are and don’t need to be explained. There is no need to frame questions, far less seek answers.

Humans however have evolved the concepts of how or why. And the human mind can come to terms with concepts like DFMPR; good and evil; mystery and awe; yin and yang; a sense of yesterday and tomorrow; of death and immortality which are all foreign in the animal kingdoms.

Unfortunately, though how and why questions come easily to the human mind, answers do not and being an rather impatient sort of life form, well, what do we want, answers; when do we want them, now!

Any gaps in our minds ability to figure things out, the natural order of things (like life, the universe and everything), could be instantaneously filled in by one very simple invention – storytelling. If you have trouble explaining the natural via the natural, then invent explanatory stories of the supernatural, or mythology, or its synonym religion, since every mythology has both supernatural elements and deities. Easy! Every culture has done it. As author Karen Armstrong says “We created religions because we are meaning-seeking creatures”. A local pastor of a friend of mine wrote that “religion is for making a disparate and confusing world coherent”. Substitute the word ‘science’ for ‘religion’ and I’d agree. That’s what science tries to do – make sense of life, the universe and everything. Later on down the track, people decided the best way to explain the natural was to investigate, experiment and get their hands dirty, and slowly but surely,  supernatural or religious philosophies morphed into natural philosophy, or what we call today science, and science has indeed filled in many gaps where previously only deities feared to tread.

Not all mythology need be 100% tall tales invented from scratch out of whole cloth to explain life, the universe and everything. There could be, and probably are, natural events influencing the authors of these tall tales. One can easily substitute a natural, albeit extraterrestrial Captain Yahweh of the Starship Heaven for the supernatural Almighty for example. 

Religion may have once covered that role but since the Age of Enlightenment religion has become irrelevant in that role. We created science to ultimately explain that who, what, where, when, why and how. Science answers the question ‘what is my DFMPR in life’ by pointing out there isn’t any DFMPR (given to us by a nebulous other or religious deity), any more than what is the DFMPR of a rock’s existence. It just is. There is nothing ultimately different between you and a rock, just the arrangement of the fundamental bits and pieces that make up both you and the rock.

But science hasn’t yet come to terms with everything life, the universe and everything has thrown up. An obvious example is explaining that eternal question of what is my DFMPR in existing and being present and accounted for in the first place, apart from my asking “how high” when someone says “jump”! “How high” might be your DFMPR for being present and accounted for in the here and now. 

But then you too could jump all on your own accord because you have decided that your DFMPR in life is to jump, or at least one of your DFMPR (there’s probably no such thing as just a singular DFMPR to your life). Now that’s not all that frivolous since there are athletes whose profession is the high jump or the broad jump or race track hurdles, or who ride and jump horses over obstacles – the steeplechase I think that’s called.

So again we see that your DFMPR can be both influenced by others (say your drill sergeant) and by yourself – you volunteered to enlist in the army and serve your country thus giving you DFMPR to your otherwise miserable existence.

The Concept of the Nebulous Other:

Now a question arises, does any DFMPR stem also from a third party, from a sort of nebulous supernatural sort of other drill sergeant type? Only if you believe in the existence of such a deity or the various mythological texts that supposedly endorse such a being. However, I’ve already pointed out that these religious mythologies were the products of the human mind to give instant satisfaction to un-answered and unanswerable (at the time) questions. Therefore there is no competing nebulous supernatural other directing your life, even if you believe otherwise. Any nebulous supernatural other stems from your own mind.

There is one other last option. People who feel that they are being directed or otherwise have a sense of higher calling or DFMPR in their life might be virtual beings in a simulated universe. Software is the string; you (in fact all simulated life, the simulated universe and the simulated everything) is the puppet of some unknown nebulous, but not a supernatural nebulous other, is the puppeteer. In such a simulated universe you’d have a DFMPR, but no free will. In this case the puppeteer wouldn’t be just a mental creation.

Conclusion: All DFMPR; good and evil; mystery and awe; yin and yang; a sense of yesterday and tomorrow; of death and immortality stems 100% from within your own mind, albeit influenced at times by others – like your drill sergeant – natural others, not nebulous supernatural others. If you feel you have an ultimate DFMPR to your existence then that ultimately stems from or is consolidated from within your own mind (brain chemistry rules the roost) even if influenced by the input of others. I have various self-assigned DFMPR, but they all stem from within my own mind – an example of free will? When my mind eventually goes, so too will go the DFMPR. Once you’re brain dead any DFMPR you had can’t be continued or added too, though that doesn’t mean you can’t still serve a DFMPR, like being an inspiration after-the-fact. Still, the bottom line is that all DFMPR ultimately comes from within, probably after much internal mulling things over, and ever evolving as you get older (and wiser). Apart from the simulated universe scenario, your mind is your own. You have, apparently, free will to pick and choose your own DFMPR.