And then God created Life !

I am so much in awe of life (albeit with its million little idiosyncrasies) that I keep asking myself almost every other day:

Who and why would someone create life in the first place ?

The "who" part of that question can be easily answered by me at the moment - It can be only the supreme creator aka GOD aka "IT" or whatever you may like to call it!!!

So why blame/praise god (blame or praise depending on whether you have had a good day till now) and not believe that all the life that we can see around us can be explained completely on the basis of scientific explanation ?

Well...the surprising answer is that some of the most interesting questions I have on life as such, have still not been answered !

for e.g.:

• Why is death so crucial in the continuity of a species ?

• Why can't my genes go on mutating in a way that it adapts itself to the changing environment with a lag time measured in a handful of years ?

• Why does darwinian processes related to "selection" have to come into importance only over hundred and thousands of years ?
  

and no. It CANNOT be explained on the basis of the immensely stupid chemical and physics lab experiments that we used to do in our school days. Please.

Well, I have discussed on this in one of my earlier posts. In short, the day some of the biggest mysteries (e.g. what is dark energy and dark matter ???) in the world can be easily explained by science, is the day that I will stop believing in God !...

Goes without saying - that fortunate time isn't going to come in a dozen of my after-lives as well !

WHY would God take the trouble of creating life in the first place ???

This, personally speaking, is a beautiful question (patting myself on my back now) as well as a philosophical one !

I have an explanation to this - albeit probably too simplistic for God's liking (God!! forgive me for I don't know what I say !)

I believe God or the supreme creator (or with whatever name you call this entity) created life when "it" got bored with either himself or with "nothing'ness" around !

Probably bored wouldn't be the exact word that I had in mind. Well, I wouldn't have the exact word for it but probably it sums up best when we say "Why not ?"

And thus, at a point in the very distant past "it" said "why not" ???


I have a part cosmological and a part oh-so-typical-sudip's explanation to this. Something that cannot be explained or neither is taken out of the pages of the Ramayans, the Gitas, the upanishad's for that matter. I haven't done any research on this topic and neither am I inclined to do it.

Now comes the explanation. This is how I think of it:

The universe began somewhere close to 13.7 billion years back. The Hot Big Bang theory of course is just one of the several theories (but the most dominant one) on how universe began.

I personally feel that going by the most dominant theory that the universe "began" at a specific point of time is a self-comforting explanation by scientists. As if, even in this modern age scientists would want to avoid heresy and are still playing to the gallery where Pope sits merrily.

Yeah, I know, that probably 99.99 % of all galaxies out there (leaving apart "our" local group of galaxies) are red-shifted. True, it logically leads to the conclusion that at a "certain" distant past all things should have been together at a point of infinite density.

BUT, there is something about the big bang theory that just doesn't feel right !!!!

• Why does things have to begin and have to end ?

• Why should time have a beginning ?

• Why should visible matter and universe treated as one and the same ? (By that I mean, that universe in only meant to inlcude the regions of space that includes galaxies, stars and planets . It could very well be that the universe , that is the space within which all visible matter resides can be much much older than the age of visible matter as we know it. In sum, when we say that universe began 13.7 billion years back, we should rather be saying that it was the birth/origin/ emergence of matter as we know it).
  

• What could have lead a point of infinite density to explode all-of-a-sudden ? Going by that logic, the other points of infinite density in the observable universe - Black Holes (though we can't look at it directly) ,in short, don't theoretically explode but instead (and gracefully, if I may add) are supposed to "loose mass" through Hawking Radiation ! Why this partiality in the first place ? How ridiculous this partiality is !!!
  

Something tells me (and has been always telling me since I started reading on this "Space" the last frontier" a decade or so back ..no not watching Star Trek episodes but getting my firm grips of Theoretical astronomy) that this universe makes more sense to be in a steady-state rather than the one-mother of all-explosion" that explains it all ! Of course, the steady-state theory doesn't explain the red-shifted nature of 99.99?% of all galaxies very convincingly but then its a separate topic altogether and needs another post from me, lest I go off on another tangent here again.

• I believe that for the infinite time that has come before us and the infinite time that lays in front of us, we exist only as a probability.
  

Please don't consider this problem of probability in the same level as similar to the probability of getting a six in a roll of dice.

I am talking of an infinite set of possibile variables, in an infinite time line, within an area which is infinite. I am not a mathematician, but a reasonable guess of mine tells me that that we possibly can't explain such phenomena where all the variables we talk about in an "grand" equation has an infinite number of values.

We are thus only a probability at the moment. For all we know, there may have been several mother-of-all explosions before us and would be after us.

I believe that the day that Quantum mechanics, electromagnetism and Newtonian gravity comes together in a "unified-and-can-describe-all" theory will be the dawn of a new phase of science that we haven't possibly imagined it to be till now. If that blessed soul happens to solves one of the biggest puzzle till now within my life time, forget mauritius/maldives/or whatever tourist destination is out there, my only pilgrimage worth dying for is going to be meeting up with him or her.

but then I am, as usual, off in a tangent here....

So, in sum - I believe that time, dimensions and space never began BUT has always been there from eternity. Atleast my intuition (or whatever you may call it) says so ..

And within this equation, I add the one and only variable - the supreme being. The "It". It has been there for eternity too.... So let's just add "it" in and forget the why's and the why nots..

My thinking goes that "emptiness" and "nothing'ness" is a fact. And when we call it a fact, we are actually saying that it "exists" ! and "emptiness" and "nothing'ness" also have properties of their own !

Nothing'ness/ empty space has properties of its own ????????

What the hell are you talking about !!!!

It just doesn't make any sense.

Well..surprise...surprise..and more surprise.....Many of the profound concepts in the field of theoretical astronomy actually doesn't make any sense for the ordinary human out there....

for e.g. :
For a fact, Quantum Field Theory allows "virtual particles" to appear and disappear violating the rules of energy and momentum conservation as long as the uncertainty principle is satisfied. They are said to be "off mass-shell", because they do not satisfy the relationship:
E² = p²c² + m²c⁴.

So, now that we know that even empty space or "nothing'ness" have properties of their own...I come up with a ridiculous sounding derivation out of all this.

I think the supreme being is nothing but the collective intelligence of the entire space we are living in.

The "fact" IS the explanation. We don't know how much empty space is exactly out there going by which cosmology theory you are aligned to that explains the present universe

But my intuition says that "nothing'ness" or "empty space" is actually not what it is....(virtual particles is still only a theoretical concept. BUT the attempt has been made !!!)

We may be, after all, be living in a world of 11 or twelve or maybe even infinite dimensions ... While we humans can only look and interpret 3 dimensions and 3 dimensional objects at the moment with considerable ease, physicists and mathematicians have already theorized and researched on looking at the world with 10-11 dimensions or more. To put it simply, what we cannot see can never be explained with total certainty. Black Holes is another example, if you know what I mean. This universe, after all, maybe full of strange objects that we can't see .....because maybe we have always been having the wrong tools in detecting its presence.

So, let's just suppose that the supreme being is the "fact" and the "fact" has been around for all the time. Time being relative it is. No beginning of time and surely no end to it.

Just imagine that you were the supreme being vs. you being a human being now.

How long can you stay alone on your own with nothing else around you ?

I shudder to imagine how the "it" would laugh at me when I get bored sitting alone in a place for more than a few minutes ?

Compare this with all the eternity "it" has spent alone !!!!!!!!!!!!

So I was just thinking - that MAYBE - that maybe - that at some point in the distant past...distant distant distant past.....that "it" felt an urge.

Why did it feel the urge ?

I don't know but I would love to know it . I would love to know what prompted "it" to think of a change.

If god gave me three wishes - My first wish, even without thinking for a moment - is to ask "it" - Why ???????? Why so elaborate ? (the other two wishes eh ? Sudip ? The hell I am going to tell you !!!)

Just imagine for a moment - We are talking of an time that goes back till god-forsaken infinite eons back.

and suddenly the "it" feels that it should make something out of nothing.

Was it sudden ? I don't know and that probably wouldn't be an intelligent question to ponder much about.

More importantly I am amazed at the intelligence of the "It" who could even think of it. If ever there was an universal competition on creativity, initiative, foresight then the "it" would win all of them - hands down !

Of course, it walked the talk eventually and WHAT A WALK it was !!!

I now have come to believe that this life of ours and all life that we see around us is connected to each other and to everything else in ways that humans have not been able to fathom with their limited intellectual capabilities.

Some of the most humbling experiences in my life has been to get quality self-education (not the pathetic C.B.S.E exams kinds) that was intended for no specific purpose. I studied for myself. Just for myself. Astronomy was definitely one of the subjects that made me very humble as a human. Made me realize how small we are and how insignificant we are and will probably remain that way for quite a long time until we get some of our act together (won't go off on a tangent here again. This topic , in itself has ten thousand discussion points as well)

The other subject I was fortunate to get to read on know of is called was System Dynamics:
definition" "System dynamics is a methodology for studying and managing complex feedback systems"
and it makes so much sense.

Everything is connected with each other eventually.

Of course, everything doesn't effect everything else in the same instant.

What the heck is the usefulness of TIME then ?
If you have heard the phrase " Time is the greatest leveller" , this phrase has significance in the whole cosmos as well !!!

Now comes my second thought on this:

Just imagine you were given a zillion years to live !
(I am calling it a zillion and ending it right there cause the word "infinite" and "time" taken together and in the same sentence is not a concept that we can even begin to grasp if we put our heart to it as well as our mind PLUS the fact that I do enough of Control+C and C ontrol+V in office everyday)

Now, add to it that you are omni-present in this infinite space !!! That probably means that you are aware of the entire spread of the universe and is at any given point (this is meaningless actually given the fact that the universe looks the same anywhere and everywhere you look)

Also there are two characteristic of yours that are given:

• You have COMPLETE POWER (in short - you can do whatever you like to) and

• You have COMPLETE INTELLIGENCE (I can't define this exactly - but, in short, there is NO "Want" of everything. What you want is completely in your power to fulfill)

So, what do you do next?

Imagine !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I was "it", I think creating this universe would have been the best entertainment that I could possible think of for me !

Was this the optimum choice for "it" ?
and why did it choose to create a universe exactly the way we see it now and not any other way possible ?

I don't have an answer to that, as of now ! But there is a theory in theoretical astronomy that basically says that - If the universe was not the way we see it now, then we wouldn't have been existing now to see it any other way (or something like that)

and creating life and watching it unfold as perfectly as I have coded it - would have been the entertainment-par-excellence for me! (The excitement would be similar to the domino toppling exhibition that is held in Netherlands each year. The only difference being would be that this would be the mother-of-all records that "it" has started playing 13.7 billion years back. The dominoes are still toppling and that would possibly continue, from what some scientists have calculated recently - atleast a tri

I somehow, get the feeling that God coded each one of us, our actions, our make-up - Everything !!!

And if you blurt out - what the hell !!! Did "it" have the time for it ?

I then have to show to you the three "resources" that he had always had for eternity:

• Infinite time,
  
• Complete power,
• Complete Intelligence !!!!

He has kept himself busy coding each one of us through the infinite time that has come before us !!!!

and after the universe started off with the mother-of-all-explosion 13.7 billion years back, it was party time for him.

He kicks back and relaxes, has both foot on the table and smiles while watches his creation unfold !

Does he have a sense of humour ?

• Maybe "it" has the best sense of humour one can possibly have !!! after all, an alien watching down at us would probably find humans extremely funny (assuming it has a sense of humour too)

• Maybe "it" doesn't have a sense of humour at all ! If "it" had a face, probably you would get to see a straight face all the time.

Maybe it has no sense of humour, no tension, no anger, no compassion ....a plain master mathematician, programmer & modeller.

No compassion ? Then why do we pray to him in the first place ?

A good question. BUT an IMPORTANT ONE !

To answer that probably one needs to look at the bigger picture here.
We need to ask ourselves: Are we important to "it" in the first place ?
You would want to answer "Probably yes" ?

I am quite sure the answer would be no ! The reason for coming to that conclusion is because I assumed for a fact that "it" is a COMPLETELY INTELLIGENT entity !


Suppose I was face-to-face with it and a hypothetical face of his, what would I see ??????????

I would see him staring at me.
He would be the epitome of serenity one can ever see on the face of someone (that's more a wishful thinking at the moment)
No expressions, no emotions on his face.
He would simply be staring at me.

So I say to him "Hi God !" to break the silence between us(knowing fully well that if I don't break the silence between us, he could continue staring at me for an infinite number of my after-lives as well)

Does it reply back ?

Either it does or it doesn't !

Why should it not reply back with a "Hi !!!"

I guess it would. He would have a hint of smile on its face when it says hi to me !

Why a smile ?

Cause it know EXACTLY where the question and the conversation is heading to !

It knows exactly what I would say next ! and what it would have to reply back !

It has COMPLETE INTELLIGENCE ! and has been around and has spent some god-forsaken-time just to code me thouroughly !

It knows exactly what am I thinking and the emotions and trepidations I am going through.

"It" is quite a sport. It never interrupts me and my stupid questions. Why would it ?
"It" has (always had) the option of not just answering my current question to my complete satisfaction but infact also answers to the question that was just waiting to come out from my mouth a few seconds from now. It reads my mind and answers my questions at exactly the rate at which I comprehend.

Complete intelligence probably means you are aware of everything in this universe. And everything means exactly what it is: EVERYTHING

Just think about it for a minute:
"It" would be aware of each change taking place at every moment (the time is infinitesmally small). Every hydrogen atom undergoing fusion at the core of each star, each baby born on this planet, each photon starting from the sun towards the earth.

Hey wait ! - So does that also mean that its awareness implies that it has a zillion "eyes" and watches every change occuring in this universe through a microscope.

I wouldn't think it would have to. The reason probably is very simple. (God forgive me for what I don't know why I think the way I think and what I say !!!!)

"It" being the completely Intelligent "entity" that it is has been intelligent enough to draw up the master equations at the very start of the universe. Much like a Software project, the architecture has been drawn up and all possible matter-matter interactions have been drawn up too.

So "it" would very well know what are the definite possibilities that can occure when matter interact with each other, either at the quantum level or even with large scale structures.

The next question for me then is: Are these "laws" governing these master equations have a definite value or do they have a possible set of values?

Well, my guess is that the latter is true going by the current state of research findings within the scientific community. There are a possible range of values and that each value that shows up as a result is because of the specific "nature" of interactions that happened in the past.

In short, I tend to believe that there is nothing called as a close system in past of this universe.

So coming back to another important question that comes as a result of our past discussion:

If we exist as a real probability among the infinite set of possible values within the infinite timeline within this universe:


Can we directly (or more interestingly, indirectly) affect the probabilities affecting us on a daily basis ???



For e.g.: the probability that I set foot on mars in my lifetime, lets say, is 1 in a trillion. How did I come up with such an arbitrary figure as that ? It truly is arbit number and by the current technology and by our own level-of-intelligence (human), it is beyond us to calculate the precise probability of me setting foot on mars. Because, it would depend of a million (if not billion) sets of probabilities in turn such as:

• the probability that the current-state-of-space technology that we have at the moment would "allow"me to set foot on mars
• The probability that when we do have the technology, I will still be living at that point of time
• The probability that I will be physically active to be able to qualify for the ardous journey to mars and back .
  

We can extend the above list upto a hundred times if not more.

But wait !!!....each of those bulletted points are also based, in turn, on a combination of probabilities that they are the master of.

For e.g. The probability that I will physically active to take the journey would depend on how the current cigarette in my hand would affect my health at the very moment. If a single tar molecule gets into my lungs and allows one cell to mutate maynot be a problem. But if the cell mutates but doesn't kill itself by going through the usual programmed cell death route the probably I am done for !!!

So you can begin to imagine why I have that dazed look on my face wherever I look ?

Can we affect the probability that affects us in a way that it is favourable to me ?

Yes, of course. A simple example: Cracking the test for admission to All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. One of the toughest test of its kind.

• Your probability of cracking it when you are born: One in a trillion (say)
• Your probability of cracking it when you take up Biology as a subject in class 11th and 12: one in a million
• Your probability of cracking it if you took up coaching from Sahil Study circle (say): one in 1,00,000 (assuming their success rate)
• Your probability of cracking it if you have gone through all the content that is needed throughly with a memory that captures 85-90% of all content studied: One in 5000
• Your probability of cracking it given that you are physically and mentally fit and fine at the day of the exam: one in 1 in 200 (the previous conditions are all assumed to be satisfied for achieving success in the exam)
  
• Your probability of cracking it given you didn't make a stupid calculation mistake when you goofed up the answer to question 10 (the word Eukaryotic cells reminded you of professor calculus from the Tintin series of comics running around naked shouting "Eureka !!! Eureka !!!")

The above list can also be further extended in a way that captures our daily, if not, our second-second change that occurs around us. You get the point.


So, the fact is that, if you are intelligent in a way that you can manipulate probabilities, the you can allow "fate" to favour you.

So now you can imagine what's its like to be god then ?????

A completely intelligent and powerful creature knows the exact probabilities of the changes that are occuring at "every moment" in this universe.

By the way - the word "every moment" is also an interesting subject for me. The questions that I have is:
Is time the result of change ?
If there was no "change" occuring in this universe, then time loses its relevance right ?
Could you distuinguish between two snaps of the complete universe one taken after another in , say, 10 to the negative power of say a zillion'th of a second later (infinitesimally small, in other words) ????
You couldn't find the difference and thus time looses its relevance at such small measures (and I guess even at extremely large levels)

Also being completely powerful, does it need to interfere in changing the probabilities once the universe had started 13.7 billion years back ?

Though this question would be of particular interest to the god fearing human, I would rather disappoint them by saying "No, It wouldn't".

Once the coding was done by "it" and the master equations cast in stone, why should it tinker and favour us anyways ? Somehow I have always felt it logical to conclude that life on earth would be considered inconsequential at the very least.

• "Jo hoga woh dekha Jayega"
• "Bacchey, thoda mahenat kar lo, mahenat sey bada aadmi banogey"
  

In fact, both are right and wrong at the same time.

You CAN affect the probabilities affecting you and the ones that you affect in return,

while at the same time,

Nothing that you do can be of any significance in your life-time

The dual principle:
The secret of living a contended life !