Thoughts on Abiogenesis

[Vap841]

We're definitely more than the sum of our parts. I like to think of us as bits of the universe that have become aware of itself.

I don't know why, but I've been having very vivid dreams recently. I go to bed almost thinking 'Gee, where am I going to end up tonight'. How cool would it be to think when our three score and ten are up we get to think 'Where am I going to end up next?' Although our Christian chums will probably have one of only two options available for me.

But maybe it's already happened and I don't remember the last iteration. Which would be something of a waste...

I don’t think your memories will stay with you, but perhaps residual quirks/habits will, I’m into speculation territory but I sometimes think that maybe if you really put blood, sweat & tears into gaining a skill in one life that maybe in your next one(s) you will have a notch or two of more natural talent towards that ability. I also think that wiped memories can have it’s benefits since having baggage from just one life can be enough to weigh you down.

Yeah the self awareness part is high up on the evolutionary process, it’s exciting to think of being embodied into an even higher cognitively evolved alien life form next time, longer lifespan (CRISPR and beyond), etc.

I have heard about some Christians who interpret heaven and hell as just states of mind, and how you can become eternally locked into your worse or best self. I don’t know which group of Christians believe in that interpretation but it did get me to wondering if “Eternal” could even mean eternal in the sense of increments of eternity, like one life after another life after another life of self defeating misery over & over & over & over, vs its heavenly counterpart of a great life followed by great life, etc. And maybe this group of Christians interpret just a threat of only POSSIBLE eternity, meaning that it is possible to break the cycle, however giving you a warning that you can also get stuck into the cycle for eternity if you eternally refuse to change. I just more than anything want people to have healthy belief systems and I think that that flavor of Christianity wouldn’t be that bad. I can’t imagine a belief system that is more psychologically damaging than a belief in a literal eternal hell, and EVEN if you don’t go there it’s a fact that lots of people that you love are headed there.

 

[Bradskii]

I don’t think your memories will stay with you, but perhaps residual quirks/habits will, I’m into speculation territory but I sometimes think that maybe if you really put blood, sweat & tears into gaining a skill in one life that maybe in your next one(s) you will have a notch or two of more natural talent towards that ability. I also think that wiped memories can have it’s benefits since having baggage from just one life can be enough to weigh you down.

Yeah the self awareness part is high up on the evolutionary process, it’s exciting to think of being embodied into an even higher cognitively evolved alien life form next time, longer lifespan (CRISPR and beyond), etc.

I have heard about some Christians who interpret heaven and hell as just states of mind, and how you can become eternally locked into your worse or best self. I don’t know which group of Christians believe in that interpretation but it did get me to wondering if “Eternal” could even mean eternal in the sense of increments of eternity, like one life after another life after another life of self defeating misery over & over & over & over, vs its heavenly counterpart of a great life followed by great life, etc. And maybe this group of Christians interpret just a threat of only POSSIBLE eternity, meaning that it is possible to break the cycle, however giving you a warning that you can also get stuck into the cycle for eternity if you eternally refuse to change. I just more than anything want people to have healthy belief systems and I think that that flavor of Christianity wouldn’t be that bad. I can’t imagine a belief system that is more psychologically damaging than a belief in a literal eternal hell, and EVEN if you don’t go there it’s a fact that lots of people that you love are headed there.

In another thread I was just talking about a sci fi book I'm reading at the moment (Recursion by Blake Crouch) which deals with memory. People are able to go back to a memory and effectively transfer to that point and relive their lives. And they have memories of their 'old' life, which is effectively their future IF they make the same decisions. Kinda freaky. The initial direction of the story proposes this as a good thing. But matters are going seriously pear shaped half way through the book.

I'm not yet sure if it would be a good thing or not. Maybe the bad guy with this machine turns out to be the person who takes us to another level. I might find out tonight if I finish it. Something of a page turner. I'm sorta rooting for him though. Same with artificial intelligence and possible genetic engineering. I say go for it.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

+1 on the Kahneman book. And I guess I better add Damasio's to my reading list. Although one-click purchases on Amazon means I'm buying books quicker than I can read them...

Yes, I have a serious book-stack problem - I'm trying to establish a habit of reading every day so I have a chance of getting through them - but there are so many distractions...

A brief note on consciousness. I did read a proposal some time back that it was a natural event caused by us leaving the oceans and starting to inhabit the land. Because it's easier to see a greater part of your environment on land than it is in water, there was an evolutionary benefit in interpreting the larger amount of information available and developing some conditional modes of reacting to it. IF this THEN that etc. So a sense of what was 'out there' developed as opposed to simply reacting to external stimuli. And if there's an 'out there' then a sense of 'in here' seems a natural progression. So an organism developed a sense of itself within the environment.

Yes, if you can see further than a couple of metres ahead, then there is potentially a selective advantage for geographic orientation, planning ahead, establishing goals (shelter, prey, etc), and so-on. Evidence suggests that basic conscious awareness is a function of the hindbrain, and the (frontal) cortex elaborates on that. This explains how individuals born without cortex still have basic awareness and emotional responses.

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

But maybe it's already happened and I don't remember the last iteration. Which would be something of a waste...

If the last iteration leaves no trace or has no effect on the current one, then it's a meaningless concept...

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

In another thread I was just talking about a sci fi book I'm reading at the moment (Recursion by Blake Crouch) which deals with memory. People are able to go back to a memory and effectively transfer to that point and relive their lives. And they have memories of their 'old' life, which is effectively their future IF they make the same decisions. Kinda freaky. The initial direction of the story proposes this as a good thing. But matters are going seriously pear shaped half way through the book.

I'm not yet sure if it would be a good thing or not. Maybe the bad guy with this machine turns out to be the person who takes us to another level. I might find out tonight if I finish it. Something of a page turner. I'm sorta rooting for him though. Same with artificial intelligence and possible genetic engineering. I say go for it.

That sounds like a minor twist on the traditional time machine idea. Reminds me of Ray Bradbury's 1952 classic, A Sound of Thunder.

 

[Bradskii]

That sounds like a minor twist on the traditional time machine idea. Reminds me of Ray Bradbury's 1952 classic, A Sound of Thunder.

I read the first couple of lines and then thought...I think I can see where this is going. I didn't continue in case I come across the story again. But I'd guess it suggests that we mess with the past at our peril. The Martian Chronicles got me into sci fi. And I've yet to finish 451. It was one of about a dozen books I thought I should have read (I'll bet you could name at least half a dozen of those).

 

[FrumiousBandersnatch]

I read the first couple of lines and then thought...I think I can see where this is going. I didn't continue in case I come across the story again. But I'd guess it suggests that we mess with the past at our peril. The Martian Chronicles got me into sci fi. And I've yet to finish 451. It was one of about a dozen books I thought I should have read (I'll bet you could name at least half a dozen of those).

Yes, I still have two shelves full of science fiction - that was before I switched to non-fiction... but that's another story

 

[Vap841]

In another thread I was just talking about a sci fi book I'm reading at the moment (Recursion by Blake Crouch) which deals with memory. People are able to go back to a memory and effectively transfer to that point and relive their lives. And they have memories of their 'old' life, which is effectively their future IF they make the same decisions. Kinda freaky. The initial direction of the story proposes this as a good thing. But matters are going seriously pear shaped half way through the book.

I'm not yet sure if it would be a good thing or not. Maybe the bad guy with this machine turns out to be the person who takes us to another level. I might find out tonight if I finish it. Something of a page turner. I'm sorta rooting for him though. Same with artificial intelligence and possible genetic engineering. I say go for it.

My first thought when I started reading this was Bill Murray in Groundhog’s Day when he was complaining that he couldn’t be reliving another day over & over & over lol.

That’s cool that the book is taking a dark turn, I love a nice curveball!