Cosmosapiens By John Hands

Find out what we are and why we are

here.
Where did we come from? Its a question we ask almost as soon as we can talk.
And the answers to questions about humankind, life and the universe depend
entirely on the worldview of the person weve asked.

Instead of the usual subjective accounts, however, these blinks provide an

overview of the evolution of scientific theory, exploring things such as the origin
of matter, the universe, the emergence of life on Earth and the development of
human consciousness.

From the big bang theory to how human thought evolved, youll be taken on a
journey through the scientific inquiries that have sought to find answers to our
most profound questions.

Youll also learn

what the origin of the universe has to do with a turtle and

an egg;
why we humans are unique; and
that belief systems developed in farming communities
some 10,000 years ago.

Various cultures have different origin

myths; science explains the emergence
of the universe with the big bang.
What crosses your mind when you think of the origins of human beings? For the
majority of humankind, explanations of our genesis come from popular origin
myths.

For example, 63 percent of Americans believe that what is written in the Bible is
the word of God that is, literally true and the great majority of the worlds
1.6 billion Muslims believe in the absolute truth of the Quran.
Throughout history, people have developed these myths to tell the story of how
the universe and humankind came to be. Many of them describe a chaotic
environment, often involving water, from which a god emerges and creates the
world.

We see this in the ancient Egyptian myth of Heliopolis: From the primordial
watery abyss known as Nu, the god Atum arose, and from his seed the world was
brought into existence.
Other myths found throughout Asia tell of a pre-existing animal, such as a
turtle, that dives into the primordial waters to emerge with a piece of earth that
later expands to form the world.

In other parts of Asia, India, Europe and the Pacific a symbolic egg is the source
of all creation.

Very few of these myths tell an origin story of something being created out of
nothing. Yet, this is the explanation that is currently favored by science.

This explanation is known as the big bang theory, and it holds that the universe,
including all of space, time, energy and matter, exploded into existence from a
single point of extreme density and temperature about 13.7 billion years ago.
Eventually, this expanded and cooled into the universe we know today.

Scientists have found evidence of an expanding universe in what is known as

the redshift. In 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that when a
source of light, such as a distant galaxy, moves away from an observer, it shifts
further toward the red end of the color spectrum. And this is exactly what
scientists are seeing when they are observing distant objects
However, there are gaps in the big bang theory. Well take a look at these in the
next blink.

The big bang theory fails to fully explain

the emergence of the universe.
Though the big-bang model has been around since the 1920s, its still
incomplete, failing to explain several observational and theoretical problems.

For instance, even the redshift evidence has holes in it.

Several renowned astronomers believe that, in addition to the expansion of the
universe, there are many other explanations for the observed redshift in distant
celestial bodies.

Another problem with the big bang theory is an underlying assumption: that the
universe expanded within 1/10 of a second, which means that a point with a
diameter of 1/10 of a centimeter supposedly expanded to more than 10 billion
orders of magnitude greater than the size of the universe we observe today.

To achieve such an increase in size means that the universe expanded faster
than the speed of light, contradicting Einsteins theory of relativity, which
assumes that nothing can travel faster than light.

But perhaps the biggest theoretical problem facing the big bang theory is the
question of where matter and energy came from.

There are two points to the issue: first, Einsteins theory of relativity also states
that the amount of matter and energy in the universe should be equivalent;
second, nineteenth century physicist James Joules conservation of energy
principle states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, which means
that the universe must contain the same amount of energy as when it was
created.

But according to the big bang theory, the universe was created from nothing, so
the total energy of the universe must be zero! This, of course, contradicts our
observations.

So, as we can see, there are still unanswered questions about the origins of our
universe. In the next blink, well look at the questions surrounding the origins of
life.

There are six conditions necessary for

life to emerge, making Earth a rare
place in the universe.
For ages, humans have wondered if life exists on other planets or in far away
galaxies, a question that remains open to this day.
However, scientists have determined that there are six conditions necessary for
the existence of life.

First: The essential elements that form complex molecules must be present.

In this case, carbon is the only element capable of forming complex, life-
producing molecules. The presence of water in its liquid form is also considered
essential.

Second: The size and mass of a planet is vitally important.

If a planet is too small, its gravitational force will not be strong enough to keep
water on its surface or create an atmosphere that keeps in gasses. However, if a
planet is too heavy, it would capture too much gas and become inhospitable.

Third: The temperature has to be just right.

If a planet is too hot, the temperature will break the bonds that form complex
molecules. But if it is too cold, the metabolic reactions needed to create life will
take too long to form.

Fourth: A planet must have a source of energy, such as a sun, to produce the
appropriate temperature essential for both creating and maintaining life.

Fifth: The planet needs protection, such as an atmosphere, to keep out

hazardous ultraviolet radiation.

Sixth: Finally, all of these conditions must remain stable for a period long
enough to allow organisms to emerge from the complex molecules.

These six fundamental conditions are met on Earth, which makes it a unique
place in the universe.

Since Galileo realized that the Earth was not the center of the universe and that
many planets orbit the Sun, it was assumed that extraterrestrial life may exist
on one of these planets.

However, scientists have come to discover that there are very few places in the
universe that meet these necessary conditions for the creation of life.
Science struggles to explain what life is
and how it emerged on Earth.
To most of us, life seems self-evident: The cat that rubs against your leg is alive,
the piece of toast on your plate is not. But defining what life is what
distinguishes the living from the nonliving is actually very difficult.
In fact, science is still struggling to define life.

Both scientists and philosophers find it difficult to agree on what the defining
characteristics of life are. However, there are six characteristics that are
invariably
mentioned: reproduction, evolution, sensitivity, metabolism, orga
nization and complexity.
To further complicate matters, in 2004, the British science writer Philip Ball
claimed that trying to define life is pointless. He suggests that there are no
boundaries between what is alive and what is not.

To help make his case, Ball points to viruses. Even though they reproduce,
evolve and are organized and complex, they are inactive outside a living cell.
They only become active within a useful host cell, where they can take over the
cells metabolic machinery. This raises the question: is a virus a living thing or
not?

Science also struggles to explain how life emerged on Earth.

Current estimates suggest life emerged on Earth around 3.5 billion years ago.
This is the point to which all life (we think) can be traced to a single-
celled last universal common ancestor (LUCA).
However, scientists still struggle to accurately explain how life first emerged
from elements and molecules and answer the question: How did inanimate
matter become life?

One popular theory is that life emerged from a primordial soup, a

combination of elements that took energy from sunlight and formed organic
compounds, eventually yielding a new kind of molecule that was able to
replicate itself.
Still, scientists have no exact idea how even a single-celled organism could
emerge from such a primordial soup on Earth.
Again, there is much we still dont know for certain, but in the next blink well
move on to how life evolved on Earth.

There is great evidence for biological

evolution, and yet there are holes in
Darwins theory of natural selection.
So, how did we evolve from single-celled organisms into creatures capable of
enjoying this blink? The best explanation that science currently has
is biological evolution a series of changes within an organism that
results in a new species.
Charles Darwin first proposed that biological evolution occurs
through natural selection, a process where the strongest individuals and
organisms in any given population have the best chance of survival and get the
most mates, thereby passing on their characteristics to the next generation.
In fact, there is extremely compelling evidence for biological evolution.

Fossil records reveal skeletons that trace the evolution of an early horse-like
animal to the modern horse.

Further evidence can be found by looking at living species. While the wings of
penguins are useless for flying, their design suggests that they are the
evolutionary remnants of wings their ancestors did use to fly.
Biochemistry also provides an abundance of evidence: all plants, animals and
bacteria consist of chemicals that are structured and react either the same or in
very similar ways.

Then there is genetic analysis, which reveals that all existing life forms share
around 100 of the same genes.

However, while support for biological evolution is strong, there are problems
with Darwins claim that the source of evolution lies solely in natural selection.

Modern science has revealed that, in addition to natural selection, there are
other causes of biological evolution that can lead to the inheritance of acquired
characteristics.
For example, it has become increasingly clear that environmental factors, such
as diet and stress, can produce traits in all animals and humans that are
transmitted to the offspring without any genetic change taking place.

At Tel Aviv University, theoretical geneticists Eva Jablonka and Gal Raz have
compiled examples of characteristics acquired through non-genetic inheritance.
Their work is further evidence that suggests the presence of factors beyond
natural selection that must be considered when it comes to biological evolution.

Humans are unique due to our

reflective consciousness and learning
behavior.
Its difficult to define exactly what life is, and its equally hard to pinpoint
precisely what differentiates human beings from other living organisms.
Scientists have pointed to particular traits such as our unique way of walking
on two feet and our artistic endeavors but there are other things to consider.

Perhaps humankinds truly unique trait is the capacity for reflective

consciousness.

Having consciousness means being aware of ourselves, our environment and

other organisms, and then reacting to these thoughts. We share these abilities
with other animals; however, these other animals dont have reflective
consciousness that is, they arent conscious of their own consciousness.
Humans can uniquely express this trait with questions such as: What are
we? and Where did we come from? These questions have led to the
development of systems that seek to provide answers, such as religion,
philosophy and science.
But it doesnt stop there. Reflective consciousness has also led to uniquely
human traits such reasoning, insight, imagination, creativity, abstraction and
morality.

Another radical difference between humans and other animals is the way we
learn. For instance, primates learn mainly by copying the actions of their
parents. On the other hand, humans only rely on parents for the first five or so
years before the education is taken over by schools, universities and books. And
rather than only being taught survival skills like foraging, hunting and tool-
making, humans learn a wide variety of other skills, such as art, philosophy and
science.

Furthermore, humans also teach themselves by creating valuable resources and

databases such as libraries and the internet. This kind of behavior certainly
makes humans unique among other animals.

But how exactly did we gain this unique consciousness?

The evolution of human thought is

divided into three phases.
Of course, humans didnt suddenly wake up one day with reflective
consciousness; it developed gradually over the course of 2.5 million years.

And this process was initially at odds with the powerful survival instincts that
wed inherited from our prehuman ancestors.

The first phase in the evolution of human thought started around 10,000 years
ago. During this phase, called primeval thinking, we began to self-reflect
and to consider our relationship to the rest of the universe. Survival, however,
was the main consideration, and all thought was guided by superstition.
With primeval thinking, nomadic hunter-gatherers settled into farming
communities where they invented and developed writing. They also developed
belief systems and early religions that came from a combination of imagination,
a fear of the unknown and an inability to understand natural phenomena.

The second phase began around 3,000 years ago with the rise
of philosophical thinking. This is when thought branched off from
superstition, marking the advent of philosophy the contemplation human
behavior as well as the essence and causes of things.
Philosophical thinking is also defined by a desire to seek explanations that dont
involve imagined spirits or humanoid gods.

The earliest known examples of philosophical thinking are contained in

the Indian Upanishads, which is where we find the foundation for the
philosophical concepts of Hinduism.
The third phase in the development of human thought brought us scientific
thinking. It began around 500 years ago, when knowledge was obtained
through scientific analysis as opposed to either philosophical speculation or
beliefs based on supernatural revelation.
This is when we began to understand and explain natural phenomena by using
systematic preferably measurable observations and experiments.

Scientific thinking resulted in a remarkable growth of empirical knowledge; this

was aided by increasingly accessible education, which led to the training of even
more scientists.

Scientific insight is limited.

So far, weve come across many questions that science still cant explain. But
sciences failure to provide an answer today doesnt entail another failure
tomorrow. However, scientific insight does seem limited and there may be
questions that it simply cant explain.
First of all, the domain of science itself has limitations, especially when it comes
to observation and measurement.

Take Einsteins theory of relativity, for example. If it is correct, and nothing can
travel faster than the speed of light, then well never be able to observe anything
past the distance traveled at light speed from the beginning of the universe. This
limitation is known as the particle horizon.
Scientific data is also limited, much of it forever lost to time.

This is the case with the many fossil records that were destroyed by the
movement of rocks over time, making it almost certain that we will never obtain
evidence of the first life forms on Earth.

Currently, there are also many theories that are simply untestable.

Some scientific explanations of how the universe evolved involve the existence
of other universes that are unreachable. And if we have no means of contact, we
cant test these theories through the usual means of scientific observation and
experiment. Therefore, were faced with theories that lie outside the current
limits of science.
These limitations even extend to natural sciences. While the laws of physics and
chemistry may be able to explain and predict many natural phenomena, science
cannot explain the essence of what we experience.

For example, science is unable to fully explain the laws of gravity. Sir Isaac
Newton himself believed that gravity was the creation of God.

But science cant be blamed for failing to answer these questions. After all, its
possible there may simply be a limitation to the reach of the human mind.

Final summary
The key message in this book:

Science struggles to explain the fundamental questions of

life. How did the universe begin and how did human life
evolve? Scientists have only been able to develop theories
that try to explain these phenomena. We may one day be
able to answer these fundamental questions, but, for now,
it seems there may be limits to the scientific method.
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Suggested further reading: A Brief History of Time by

Stephen Hawking
A Brief History of Time takes a look at both the history of scientific
theory and the ideas that form our understanding of the universe today. From
big bangs and black holes to the smallest particles in the universe, Hawking
offers a clear overview of both the history of the universe and the complex
science behind it, all presented in a way that even readers who are being
introduced to these ideas for the first time will understand.