Emergent Intelligence
Eons ago, I wrote an entry that entitled "Connections" that talked about how the same patterns seem to be replaying themselves over and over again throughout the universe. Towards the end of that entry, I started writing about how similar atoms seemed to be clustered together, and how this could store information and structure. I'm going to try to pickup from where I left off.
Although I was planning on giving more analogies, I think I'll just cut to the chase: I believe our entire universe is simply an evolutionary process defined by a few simple rules. I cannot tell you exactly what these rules are (in fact, I think that it is impossible to do so), but I have a feeling that this might not matter. If we built a computer simulation based upon rules that had the same "themes" (for lack of a better word), then we would observe another evolutionary process similar to our own. In short, we could construct another "universe", but the rules dictating this universe would not need to be anything at all like our own (example: the universe might lack any notion of geometry).
I believe that there are an unlimited number of "rule sets" that can produce an evolutionary process like our universe. However, I also believe that any "universe" governed by these rules must pass through the following stages (note: it might be possible to "bootstrap" a universe so that it bypasses one or more stages):
0. The Null Universe:
In this stage, all of the rules are in place governing the objects of the universe, but there are no objects. For us, this would be like having a universe that is completely devoid of physical particles and energy.
1. Atoms and The Creation of Simple Machines:
An uncountable number of "atoms" are injected into the null universe. The rules governing the universe cause the "atoms" to begin interacting with one another in a simple cause-and-effect manner. Transient structures, or "molecules", begin to appear as a result of these interactions. In many ways, these "molecules" are just like the simple atoms except that their behaviors are more intricate. In an abstract sense, these "atoms" and "molecules" are really nothing more than very simple machines.
2. Survival Techniques
Probabilistically speaking, we are much more likely to see smaller, simpler molecules than large, complex molecules. The reason for this is due to the recursive nature of molecular composition: a complex molecule always consists of a number of simpler components. For example, the automobile did not appear instantaneously: we first had to invent wheels, axles, gears, the internal-combustion engine, and the radiator (to name a few things). Likewise, a larger molecule does not arise instantly: it must be build progressively by recombining simpler molecules.
Let's suppose we have a universe with 4 types of atoms: A, B, C, and D. Furthermore, let's say that these atoms like to "connect" to one another to form linear chains. How likely would it be to find each of the following chains in our universe:
i) A
ii) AB
iii) AABABBAAABAACCCBCCDDCDCBDCACDBDADCBBDCADCBBBBCBADBCDADDCACDCCADCABDBDBCB
As long as atoms can exist in isolation (which may not be true in a given universe), the first chain is almost guaranteed to occur. Likewise, the second chain has a fairly high probability of occurrence. The last chain is much less likely to appear. Assuming that I counted correctly, there is a 1 in 4^72 chance that this chain would appear completely randomly (actually, the probability is really even lower than that since I was not accounting for a termination state). For those of you who aren't great at math, let's just say you'd be more likely to win the lottery, get struck by lightning, and become the president in the same day.
Fortunately for these molecules, their occurrence isn't entirely random. Every molecule is a state machine that interacts with the environment around it (ie, other molecules and atoms). A molecular structure can promote its existence at an arbitrary time t by using any of the following techniques:
a) Stability:
If a molecular structure happens to be nigh invulnerable, then it will be highly unlikely to disappear once it occurs. This is (probably) the simplest way to ensure a molecule's existence at any time.
b) Environmental Anticipation
Even if a molecule isn't invulnerable, it can at least be "smart" about what it does. If a molecule exhibits behaviors that steer it away from destructive forces, then it will be more likely to exist for longer periods of time. This means that we will be more likely to observe instances of the molecule at arbitrary times in the universe's evolution.
c) Productive Processes
So far, both of the techniques I mentioned promoted the existence of only a single molecular structure. A molecular structure is even more likely to occur if there exists a process that generates instances of the molecule. For example, a molecule might generate copies of itself as it moves through its environment. In other situations, there might exist external processes that generate a structure. Cars don't reproduce on their own, you know!
d) Resource Collection
This really does not directly promote the existence of a structure. If a molecule participates in a production process, then it would be useful if its natural behaviors encourage the gathering of necessary resources for the production.
As I already mentioned, it is incredibly unlikely for a complex molecular structure to occur unless it exhibits one or more of these specialized behaviors. This implies that as the universe ages, the complex molecules that DO exist will be very likely to exhibit one of more of these behaviors. In other words, the occurrence of such behaviors is actually PROBABLE for a sufficiently aged universe.
I'm going to wrap this entry up here for now. I really didn't expect things to get this long, and I don't think I'm even half way done! In my next entry, I'll discuss the complexity of internal and external behaviors, which should lead into a theory of intelligent processes. At some point, I'll follow that up with a discussion of emergent languages, and my predictions of the future stages of a universe's evolution.
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