15 + 18 points
The Museum of Statistical Anomalies by Raphael Jones
June 21st, 2011 8:59 AM
Life is a mystery. Biologists (nerds who study life) are not sure how life began, or what exactly defines life itself. Instead, living things are recognized as sharing certain qualities: levels of organization, acquisition of materials and energy,response to external stimuli, reproduction and development, and adaptations. This list is by no means definitive, and individual biologists may differ on the exact criteria defining living things. The planet Earth (Figure 1) is the only place in the universe where life has been found.
An attempt at calculating the probability of life, and intelligent life in particular, has recently been made and published in a peer reviewed journal, the gold standard of academic work.
Although precise probabilities of the existence of life are difficult to calculate, it is generally agreed upon that life is a statistically anomalous. It might be said that all human intellectual pursuits have been directed toward understanding this statistical anomaly (I just said it). As human beings, our interface with the physical world is through our bodies (Figure 2). Though we often manage to dichotomize our intellectual activities from the physical universe, no such distinction is recognized by science. Life seems to inhabit our bodies; we have neither initiated life, nor conceived of its worth, meaning, or statistical likelihood.
Human bodies are weird, right? Whether or not you personally find our material reality interfaces, aka "bodies", weird, they are highly irregular. I, for one, don't see any other intelligent beings flying around on life-sustaining orbs.
If you are curious to learn more about life, several universities and colleges have been built as institutions dedicated to collecting, organizing, and disseminating information about life. As a result of such intrepid research, recent efforts have uncovered two new species (Figure 3,4)
There is no set objective or point at which you have won. Consequently, you are free to explore, take on different tasks, and see what appeals to you. If you are lost, or confused, talk to someone a little more experienced than you; they may have answers. Alternatively, you can join a club or guild with similar interests. Groups of people often form subcultures with characteristic clothing, speaking habits, attitudes, and daily routines. For example, you could become a business person who makes money and buys stuff with it, or a surfer who speaks unintelligibly about waves and life and stuff, or a normal person who creates offspring and works and tries to have fun on the weekend, or a prestigious doctor or lawyer, adorned with a nice car and very white teeth, or you could become a scientist or an academic, and feel superior to all the other kinds of people. Good luck!
An attempt at calculating the probability of life, and intelligent life in particular, has recently been made and published in a peer reviewed journal, the gold standard of academic work.
Prof Watson suggests the number of evolutionary steps needed to create intelligent life, in the case of humans, is four. These probably include the emergence of single-celled bacteria, complex cells, specialized cells allowing complex life forms, and intelligent life with an established language.
“Complex life is separated from the simplest life forms by several very unlikely steps and therefore will be much less common. Intelligence is one step further, so it is much less common still,” said Prof Watson.
His model, published in the journal Astrobiology, suggests an upper limit for the probability of each step occurring is 10 per cent or less, so the chances of intelligent life emerging is low – less than 0.01 per cent over four billion years.
Although precise probabilities of the existence of life are difficult to calculate, it is generally agreed upon that life is a statistically anomalous. It might be said that all human intellectual pursuits have been directed toward understanding this statistical anomaly (I just said it). As human beings, our interface with the physical world is through our bodies (Figure 2). Though we often manage to dichotomize our intellectual activities from the physical universe, no such distinction is recognized by science. Life seems to inhabit our bodies; we have neither initiated life, nor conceived of its worth, meaning, or statistical likelihood.
Human bodies are weird, right? Whether or not you personally find our material reality interfaces, aka "bodies", weird, they are highly irregular. I, for one, don't see any other intelligent beings flying around on life-sustaining orbs.
If you are curious to learn more about life, several universities and colleges have been built as institutions dedicated to collecting, organizing, and disseminating information about life. As a result of such intrepid research, recent efforts have uncovered two new species (Figure 3,4)
There is no set objective or point at which you have won. Consequently, you are free to explore, take on different tasks, and see what appeals to you. If you are lost, or confused, talk to someone a little more experienced than you; they may have answers. Alternatively, you can join a club or guild with similar interests. Groups of people often form subcultures with characteristic clothing, speaking habits, attitudes, and daily routines. For example, you could become a business person who makes money and buys stuff with it, or a surfer who speaks unintelligibly about waves and life and stuff, or a normal person who creates offspring and works and tries to have fun on the weekend, or a prestigious doctor or lawyer, adorned with a nice car and very white teeth, or you could become a scientist or an academic, and feel superior to all the other kinds of people. Good luck!
Figure 1. Planet Earth
This Iron (Fe) based planet is the only place with life.
Figure 2. Human bodies: the primary interface with material reality.
These naked people are very white, and hairless. Not sure what that's about.
Figure 3. A recently discovered octopus.
This octopus will eat your face, if given the chance.
Figure 4. This fish is on its way to work.
He is trying to save money for retirement.
