The statement that our universe is tuned for life refers to the observation that the settings of our universe are somehow specifically sui...
The statement that our universe is tuned for life refers to the observation that the settings of our universe are somehow specifically suited to support the existence of life. The values of the fundamental physical constants in the governing laws of our universe, which are not derived from other laws as we know them, fall precisely within a narrow range that allows a specific complexity to form, structures and diversity to exist that support the appearance and development of life and intelligence in the universe. If these fundamental constants would be not much different from their actual values, the structures that allow life to exist would certainly not be present in the universe.
There are several natural explanations for this phenomenon, such as:
- the multiverse theory, according to which there are many other universes with different physical settings, and our universe is one of those that supports life and intelligence,
- the anthropic principle, which does not propose a reason for the universe to be life-supporting, but simply states that this question can only exist because we can obviously only experience a universe that is capable of supporting life and intelligence, which can then be marveled at by an actually formed mind,
- or the principle of naturalness, that the specific properties of the universe are merely the necessary results of as yet unknown natural processes, without any specific fine-tuning.
Typically, the explanations do not provide a real cause-and-effect relationship for the specific settings for the physical laws of the universe, but merely assert the existence of a universe tuned for life based on the conditions of the circumstances.
Life obviously arose as a consequence of the properties of our universe, so the term anthropocentric universe is misleading in this way. Life and intelligence are supposedly not the purpose of existence of our universe, as assumed by scientific thinking, but the result of the properties and operations of the universe.
The universe is obviously complex enough to support life and intelligence, and has existed long enough for life and intelligence to have evolved, and the physical constants and laws of the universe together enable the universe to support a form of life as we know it. However, when considering a universe capable of supporting life, it is useful to define the living state in more general terms than just a complex chemistry of carbon-based compounds as the form of life we know.
There are various descriptions and definitions of the living state. Basically, we know one kind of living state, the biological systems built from carbon-based molecules. Life based on carbon compounds can naturally evolve in our universe, but life based on other types of structures cannot be logically excluded, just as we humans, albeit artificially, also try to form the living state, as well as intelligence, for example by using computational devices.
A more general description of the living state was formulated in the thoughts, according to which life is a material system in a non-equilibrium state, whose structure is able to maintain itself in the changing environment due to its functioning. From this definition, some more general characteristics can be derived that must necessarily be present in the universe in order for it to be suitable for supporting life.
The universe cannot be completely in a state of equilibrium, and it must be suitable for supporting different formation of structures, it must have the condition of complexity, multiple levels of diversity of material systems can be present, creating many different characteristics. Such a universe could potentially be capable of supporting life, which could develop in it over time. Our universe is like that.
In our universe, the values of the constants in the laws of physics collectively fall within a narrow range that allows the formation of complex structures that provide the conditions for life to exist and from which life can evolve. The fundamental question related to the problem of a life-tuned universe can therefore also be formulated as whether there can be a correlation between a universe capable of forming and supporting complexity and the length of the universe's existence, because if a connection could be established between these two properties, it would also provide a natural origin and explanation for the problem of a life-tuned universe.
If it could be conceivable that our universe is a system whose existence in a state of non-equilibrium is related to its complexity and ability to create diverse and extensive structures, then our universe would naturally meet the requirements of a universe tuned to life.
In a previous thought it was discussed that the grid model of the universe could provide a suitable explanation for the biggest problem we face in the existence of our universe, the special low-entropy initial state. The grid model could also provide a natural connection between the existence of complex structures and the length of the existence of the universe, i.e. the grid model could also provide a natural explanation for the existence of a universe with special physical constants that can support the emergence of life.
A universe according to the grid model would be made up of identical particles arranged and localized in a grid-like form, where the particles perform self-vibrating motions, from which their mutually interacting vibrations can form wave-like structures formed by synchronized resonances. The system-wide resonance of this universe is the unstable equilibrium state (representing low entropy) that the system strives to reach.
In such a system, however, the natural emergence of the global, system-wide resonance can be delayed by locally formed unique resonances, and longer if more complex local resonances can be formed in the system. Eventually, the global resonance will develop in the system as a result of the struggle for equilibrium, but the longer the local resonances can exist and persist, the later the global resonance will form.
A universe conforming to the grid model is characterized by a cyclically recurring state of dissonance that tends toward an unstable equilibrium of global resonance, a cycle that can persist the longer the system is able to delay the formation of global resonance through the creation and existence of local resonant structures.
This hypothetical process does not contradict the law of entropy for closed systems. The local resonances that stabilize the system to form the global resonance can be created by increasing the disorder of their environment. However, these local resonances eventually disappear on their own in accordance with the increase in entropy, yielding to the fundamentally more favorable entropic state of dissonance and creating the conditions for the development of the equilibrium state generated by the global resonance.
At the point in the life cycle of such a system when the global resonance spontaneously ends due to the instability of the equilibrium state, the state of the synchronous vibrating grid particles at the moment of the termination of the global resonance could determine the fundamental settings of the whole system, the essential physical characteristics of the resulting state of dissonance. If and to the extent that these characteristics allow to support the formation of local resonances, the lifetime in the cycle of the system can be extended, while a variety of complex structures are formed in the system, and some of which in the realized form can function as life forms.
In the case of a cyclic universe that conforms to the grid model, only a world sufficiently complex for life and intelligence to form in each cycle could exist long enough for life and intelligence to evolve in it.
According to the grid model, the existence of complex structures stabilizes the persistence of the nonequilibrium state and, by maintaining the nonequilibrium state of the universe, allows the emergence of structures based on complexity, thus creating the possibility for the emergence of life also. The grid model of the universe can therefore not only provide a natural explanation for the special low-entropy state of the universe, as discussed before, but also offer a natural solution for the existence of a universe tuned to life, providing a link between the length of existence of a universe capable of complexity and a universe with appropriate properties to fulfill this role.
If the grid model can be applied to the physical reality of our universe, not only can the special anthropocentric tuning of the universe be deduced, but the existence of such a universe has its own logical consequences. In such a universe, the development of a sufficiently evolved intelligence, with the right intention and using its accumulated knowledge, might even be able to maintain and extend the persistence of local structures in time, and thereby prevent the emergence of a global resonance - which, through its instability, would not only initiate a new cycle of the existence of the universe, but also, because of the uniformity of the global resonance, would erase all pre-existing structures, including life forms with intelligence from the history of the universe.
In the anthropocentric universe, the life-cycle of the actual existing universe, and thus the existing life within it, can potentially be extended and sustained by the emerging intelligence within it. It also follows that the life cycles of a universe corresponding to the grid model will continue until a sufficiently intelligent life evolves within it that maintains the non-equilibrium state of that universe and prevents global resonance from forming. The evolution of a suitable intelligence could be a permanently sustainable end state of a universe corresponding to the grid-model. In this sense, then, the emergence of a suitable intelligence from life still could actually be the consequential purpose of the universe's existence. If the universe is a system that conforms to the grid model, can humanity be the means to that end, the prolongation of the existence of the universe?
And in the case that this grid structure was created by an external intelligence, does that creator observe when the continuity of the cycles of the created universe ceases, which would be a definite sign that an advanced intelligence has emerged in the system?
And in that case, what would be the next meaningful step? Perhaps to be contacted? To go to the creator of the universe, to find and meet the origin? The grid model can offer not only possible explanations for the existence of a specifically life-tuned universe, but also offer potential possibilities for the intelligence carried by a universe tuned to life.
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