Darwin’s Computer

Just think how different the theory of evolution might be if Charles Darwin had used a computer. It’s not that he needed to crunch a lot of numbers to check out his theory, it is just that he was operating without the benefit of many basic concepts that the computer represents. For one, he had no concept of a code driven system. He had no idea that his theory of evolution depended on such a system to function. Nor did he have any concept of DNA, the heart of that system. If he had understood just those two concepts out of the many that have come to light since, his book Origin of the Species probably would have been very different.

If he, or any of those individuals who helped define the theory in it’s first one hundred years, had understood that biophotons are emitted by DNA in living cells, if they had been aware of Cleve Backster’s experiments with living cells and their ability to communicate over great distances, or modern quantum physics, or holistic/holographic principles, or Gaia, or information theory, our present version theory of evolution might be entirely different.

The Digital Revolution

You know how it works; once a document has been converted to a string of code(digitized), the code can be modified, resulting in corresponding changes in future copies of that document. You use your computer to read or modify the document by changing the code. That is great for documents, but it was found that the same principle applied to any manufactured object. In an assembly line run by digital computers, changes in code can be reflected in immediate changes in the manufactured product. That’s a big deal.

Furthermore, the digitized virtual object can be tested in a virtual environment and improved without having to build one. Many other things can be done with this virtual object, like ordering materials and designing the packaging or calculating shipping weight/cost, without ever having a real object. Computers have revolutionized the manufacturing process. It is easy to take that for granted these days, but just a few years ago, people used their brains to do the very same thing. Yes, believe it or not, people would build virtual models in their heads and test them to see how they would do.

Besides just the discovery of the DNA molecule itself, the big deal was to realize that DNA also functions like a string of code. Changes in the DNA result in corresponding changes in the bio-manufactured product.

Code Driven System

Once you understand the basics of a code driven system, it is obvious that random mutation cannot be the source of change in biological organisms. That is, the changing of one bit by random mutation compromises the code, maybe even breaks it. Coherent change can only occur when a viable string of code is added or replaced. It is like in a written language, the changing of a letter here and there doesn’t usually affect the meaning except in cases where changing one letter actually changes one word into another. Even then, the new word must fit into the old context to work. So these single errors are easily spotted and corrected and the overall meaning remains intact. In order to significantly change the meaning of a passage, many letters and words must be changed or rearranged. It is the same with DNA code; random mutation breaks the code, meaningful change happens when larger strings of code are added or replaced.

It has already been established that genetic material is fairly mobile in the environment. Fragments of genetic code are carried around by viruses and such. So we have a proven mechanism that can easily replace random mutation as the source of change in evolution. Well, it’s not easy, is it?.

This is not a new theory. The old theory is known as panspermia. A more modern version, Cosmic Ancestry contends that spore born organisms carry bits of DNA that are incorporated into the DNA of other species to produce change. Dr. Fred Hoyle has been telling us for years that spores are well adapted to travel in space. So, DNA arriving from space and being incorporated into terrestrial DNA could explain a lot of things that don’t presently make a lot of sense.

This would account for the some of the strange findings of the Human Genome Project like finding identical strings of DNA in humans and coral, for example. If the DNA evolves in place, identical strings of code in these two totally different animals doesn’t seem very likely. But it makes sense if genetic material moves around like packets in a network. Time to update our thinking in this area.

What’s holding up the paradigm shift? Once one starts down this path, it becomes a slippery slope that threatens to collapse the whole of western science. Recent discoveries in bio-electrics and quantum physics back up what the mystics, seers and sages(not to mention witchdoctors, hippies and new age cult leaders) have said all along… that the universe we live in is intelligent, willful and has a memory, as do all of the creatures that inhabit it with us.

If Darwin had used a computer, we could just go back into his original document and update the parts that need it and we would all have the new paradigm on our desktop. But alas, our document handling is still evolving.

cheers,
jim

Speed Bump

Our journey has hit a speed bump… nothing serious, just great weather to be outside doing something. Then there has been another minor detour making the rounds of on-demand self publishing options. I only allow myself a few hours a day in front of the monitor… so much to see, so little time.

I have long been a fan of small press and self-publishing. It does my heart good to see how far the field has come with the advent of on-demand printing technology. So, i’ve squandered several hours of my computer time catching up on who’s doing what.

As usual, the big fish are gobbling up the small ones and this week’s choice for a small, dedicated to authors, self-publishing assistant, next week becomes a sub of some conglomerate. Best wait ’til the manuscript is complete before committing.

And beside, Free Will has generated some good discussion… seems like a good place to take a break. Thanks to all those who have joined in.

cheers,
jim

Then the weather has been great here in New Mexico. That is, we have had some rain. It isn’t often that we get any rain this time of year.

Free Will

Free will: the ability of the individual to make the final choice.

We have always claimed that territory for ourselves, denying that animals possess free will or the thought process necessary to use it. However, if you ask animals, they will tell you that they follow the same steps that you do to get what they want. Many do it with far simpler equipment than the hunk of gray matter we lug around, but they all make their own choices.

Freedom is so important to some animals that they cannot live in captivity. Others can adapt to some degree, but often suffer severe depression when caged. You might claim that animals are ruled by instinct and therefore have no freedom of choice, but you misunderstand free will. Animals build very rigid behavior patterns or habits that they always do the same way, but every animal has the ability to choose the appropriate behavior. Humans build their habitual routines by the very same process as do other animals. Our free will is more expansive than other animals, and we have the ability to make up routines on the fly, but the ability to choose is the heart and soul of biological systems.

Navigation, choice of food and mate selection all areas where some degree of free will is necessary.

Individual freedom has proven to be the most effective way for big business, big government and big religion to deal with day to day activities of their followers. Those organizations have discovered that total control over people depresses them like it does caged animals. However, a degree of freedom, even within a rigid structure, makes people work harder.

It has also been discovered that the the closer the decision making process is to the problem, the more likely it is that the problem will be solved. Rather than having information travel up the chain of command to a qualified decision maker, and then return back through channels to the point of action, it is better to give the authority and the necessary training to the person at the point of action. Of course, for that to work there must be strict limits to the scope of the granted authority and some sort of oversight. Besides shortening the feedback loops, a measure of free will is certainly good for moral.

Biological systems make use of this concept at every level. A measure of free will is granted to all mobile creatures. The ability to navigate demands that real time adjustments be made by the individual. Birds in a flock are following the flight pattern dictated by their peers, but each one is doing its own flying. Schools of fish perform in the same way, with the group navigating as one, but each fish is still in charge of its own fins.

In experiments where worms are put in a simple T shaped maze with one branch leading to food and the other to something unpleasant, appear to ponder their options, pointing what sensors they possess first down one tunnel and then the other, until they finally make a choice. Eventually, they can learn the clues that lead them to the right choice, and repeat successful behavior. The individual makes the choices and remembers the results.

Mating rituals are highly stylized, and certainly part of species specific inherited behavior, but the fact is that the female of even the tiniest insect species, deliberates and chooses her mate. If everything is not just right, she might not mate at all.

Cats demand their measure of free will to the point of trying to boss the rest of the household around. They like to initiate feeding, games and contact in general. They like to set the rules for each activity. If you spend enough time observing nature at play, you will see this behavior is common in animals and even insects.

Boss Fly

There was a big black and gold stripped fly that hung out just outside my trailer. One of his favorite perches was on the crank handle on the trailer hitch. The handle stuck straight up. It had a chrome tip on the handle that was just about the same diameter and this fly’s wingspan, probably 3/8 of an inch. The convex chrome surface displayed his undercarriage like mirrors under the fenders at a custom car show.

I would talk to him when and he would move around, it seemed in response. When I wasn’t talking he stayed still. So, after a few days of this, I offered him the back of my hand. He looked up at me, and climbed on. I turned my hand around and he reacted by turning his body so we stayed face to face. Then when I stopped turning my hand, he would turn in circles. After a short time, he would fly back to his chrome perch. He would only perform this trick once in each session. He would still give me his attention, but he wouldn’t get back on my hand.

We did this a few more times in the days to come. One day, I held out my hand from five feet away and called him to get on. He did! He took off and made one or two circles and landed on the back of my hand. We did this trick every day for quite a while. I even got to show it to a couple of friends. He turned to me and then turned to the audience… and I think he made a little bow.

Then one day, he wouldn’t do it at all. He just turned his back on me. I tried to coax him on by putting my hand up close like I had days before, but he just flew off to another perch. I tried for several days, but he just wouldn’t play. So, after about a week, I was standing there with my hands on my hips, talking to him and I asked him what the deal was. He immediately took off and made a couple of circles. I held out my hand and he landed on it. I was astounded. He wanted to initiate the action. We did it that way many times after that. I would stand there and talk to him, with my hands at my sides. When he was ready, he would take off, I would hold out my hand, and he would land on it. If I held out my hand too soon, he would turn his back on me until I put my hands back to my sides. He liked this trick and would do it more than once per session.

Not only does this exhibit free will, but also the desire to demonstrate it to others.

Farewell Performance

One day there were two of them and they would fly around and around in tight circles for several minutes and then fly off. They would come back in a few minutes and circle again. They were flying really fast and their buzzing was very loud. Then they disappeared. A few days later, he was back. His wings were in tatters and he was all beat up and ragged looking. He did his trick a couple more times that day, landing on my outstretched hand. That was his farewell performance; I didn’t see him again.

In this view of biological systems, memory, an understanding of time and space, a sense of self and the exercise of free will are all attributes possessed by each and every mobile species. The difference is in the scope of available choices, but the ability to choose is the same. Successful navigation, feeding and mating require that the agent have final control over the process. Free will is universal within the System.

Thinking Consciousness

Philosophers tell us that we can’t define consciousness using consciousness, and physicists tell us we can’t have a theory of everything unless it includes consciousness. As with most of the paradoxical things in our lives, this is a problem with our perception rather than some malfunction in universal law. Our perception, of course, is part of consciousness, wherein this conundrum exists. After reading some of the proposed definitions for consciousness, it is obvious that this approach has failed, just as predicted.

We can’t get rid of our consciousness. What else do we have to use to get the job done? The best we can do is to pretend. We can imagine ourselves outside of our consciousness and become an independent observer. We can call the complex mental meandering of the mind, “awareness”, and pretend it is something different from what we possess. That should be easy, we think ours is fundamentally different from the rest of the mobile species on the planet, anyway.

Agents Within a System

Once we are outside our own consciousness we can see the overall picture. From here, all those subtle interactions of the mind are hidden. From out here we can’t tell the mental states of individuals, all we can do is observe what they do. From here we can see what the ability to be aware does for the system.

A system is made up of agents that function within it using system protocols. The existence of onboard awareness allows agents to navigate within the system. It allows agents to observe the local environment, set goals and make choices in order to achieve said goals.

A system manages its homeostasis by monitoring the cyclical variation of its elements. Past cycles set a standard of behavior that the system attempts to maintain. Past patterns are projected into the future as expectations. As long as those cycles continue to fluctuate within those expectations, homeostasis is maintained.

Uncertainty

When cycles exceed those predicted limits, the system is confronted with uncertainty. Before any adjustments can be made in the system protocols, the situation must be understood and appropriate action initiated. That is no easy task when you consider that every element within the system is almost infinitely adjustable.

So, the system relies on its agents to define uncertainty. In any system worth mentioning there are a lot of agents, all feeding their observations into the holographic field generated by the system. This creates a composite image of the state of the field, constantly being updated and compared to all the images from the past.

You and i are natural cybernetic systems who are also agents within a larger system. We function according to the same system protocols as our neighbors. Our system uses the same protocols to read DNA as do all the rest. We use the same procedures to build tissue and learn behaviors as do all other living systems. We practice the same procedure for creating artifacts as do the others.

Holographic Generation

Within our neural pathways we generate a series of dynamic holograms related to an external situation. These are the thoughts that we collect on a subject. By focusing our attention on the external situation, we generate an internal virtual model of it. That virtual model is made up of interference patterns stored in holographic memory. As more attention is paid to the situation more interference patterns overlay the old, building better and better understanding of the observed situation.

The memory of this situation isn’t stored randomly, but in the part of the structure related to the situation. The memory of action is stored in the cells that will be used to perform the action. The structure determines the kinds of action the situation might require and the goal needed to deal with the situation. In the process, interference patterns develop that offer options for solving the problems presented by the situation.

So, a cybernetic system processes information about the external situation and reacts with a planned course of action, meant to achieve a goal. Before any action is taken, plans are made.

Regardless of the sophistication of the nervous system, from lowly flatworms to human beings, the basic function within the system is the same. Just as each cybernetic system must intake nutrients and expel waste, regardless of the complexity of the system or process, the nervous system of each agent processes information to make choices on how to behave. This is true for individual cells as well as organs, muscle groups, plants, animals, ecosystems and biospheres. The interference patterns they share shape their future.

In this view, tool making and social evolution are part of the content, part of the history of learned behavior, but have nothing to do with the origin of consciousness. Consciousness is fundamental to the System. Human consciousness has evolved in order to accomplish more complex tasks within the System, not because of them.

On-time Supply Systems

What is this operating system, LifeOS, designed to accomplish? For one thing it supplies its users with nutrition. It provides the mechanisms and guidance for agents to find and devour the food they need. Moreover, the System supplies all of the food and the food for the food.

Navigation and Supply

What we see as navigation of an individual, is in the systems view a single action that is part of the next level of functionality. Individuals navigate in order to perform their job within the larger system. They navigate in order to participate in a much larger on-time supply management system. Whether we look at a giant ecosystem including many subsystems, individual bodies or even single organs, the supply of nutrients and elimination of waste involves a complex set of logistical challenges. Even under the most difficult circumstances, these challenges are met with elegance and grace. These systems show a high degree of efficiency that can only be maintained by some sort of overall management of resources. Individuals navigate while maintaining order within the system.

Within the human body a steady flow of nutrients, in the proper proportions, is delivered, on-time to trillions of cells. These cells experience an extreme range of activity, from idle to full output, depending on the organism’s reaction to highly variable environmental conditions. The biological system supplies all of its internal components with a steady stream of just what is needed, through a wide range of demands. If the demands change, the structure of the organism is modified to adapt.

Evolution of Industrial Supply Systems

We know from human controlled supply systems what it takes operate one. We have seen the evolution of supply systems from simple barter all the way up to on-time supply systems that make modern factories models of efficiency. First of all, even in relatively primitive systems, everything has paperwork with it, from mailing labels, invoices, assembly instructions, manuals and so on. The efficiency of the delivery system depends on the accuracy of the information passed as paperwork. It depends on other things like equipment and personnel that also have an information component that they depend on for their individual efficiency.

Then there is all the talking we have to do along with every transaction. Like. “How’s the wife and kids?” That is social conversation that maintains the trust and confidence needed to maintain good trade relations. The social interaction is generally what opens up the supply line in the first place, when the sales rep makes a deal. Then there is all of the communication involved in maintaining the supply lines themselves. Someone has to buy trucks, hire drivers and manage deliveries.

In our experience, even the most inefficient supply system requires a lot of information to be exchanged. The efficiency of biological systems suggests they also handle a lot of information.

On-time Supply

The difference between the old time supply system and the modern on-time system is the amount of information that is processed. The old system used paper and handshakes to handle the details. Nowadays the computer can handle a great deal more information and the supply system becomes more efficient. Besides, that information is accessible from anywhere, while in the old system much of the information was only available locally.

Even with all the paperwork, the old way required large warehouse facilities to keep enough supplies on hand to make sure the assembly lines could operate continuously. The on-time system uses computers to keep track of everything that could possibly affect the flow of supplies and materials arriving at a manufacturing facility. Shipping dates are coordinated so that each supplier sends small shipments as needed, rather than large ones at random times. By maintaining a steady flow of materials, the need for large storage areas, and their inventories, is eliminated and efficiency increased. By having an overall view of the flow of material, shortages can be identified early and corrective action taken.

It has taken years and billions of dollars to bring our manufacturing systems into the information age, however biological systems operate at this high degree of efficiency, naturally; and they always have. Not only do individual organs and bodies perform amazing feats of internal supply, but local ecosystems accomplish the same kind of on-time delivery of nutrients involving many complex species interactions through daily, tidal and seasonal fluctuations. The efficiency of this physical reality we see around us indicates a high proficiency in information processing. Something is keeping track of everything.

Navigating the Eternal Present

In our culture we talk about the past and future as if they were countries we could visit if we had the right ticket. Our fiction includes many examples of people and machines that travel back and forth in time. We obviously like to fantasize about the possibilities of time travel, but is it realistic? Is there really a physical place that is the past?

The Universe, as we know it, is made up entirely of the present. You could say that the present IS the current state of the Universe. The entire System, from it’s largest galaxy down to the smallest individual atom, is in constant motion. A good deal of that motion takes place at, or near, the speed of light. These flying particles swirl around each other, forming giant cosmic storms that in turn swirl around their peers and swirl and swirl some more. In every nanosecond, this universal swirling produces a unique pattern of matter and energy that has never before existed. This “present” occupies space.

The chunks of matter we see and the space between them clearly defines the concept we have of space. We could say the concept of time is also represented as a function of moving through space. Even at the speed of light it would take time to travel from one chunk of matter to another. But is time, as we perceive it, a real thing?

Where is the Past?

The present occupies space, but does the past? Where is the physical reality of the past? You have an old rock. Is it the past? No, it is surely right here with us in the present. It is not the same rock that it was in the past. Wind and rain have turned some of it to dust. Some of it’s elements have decayed and released particles into the air. And all the time it is spinning and spinning, moving through the cycles of time.

Where is the past? It exists only in memory. The past is a construct of imagination, it doesn’t really exist. It used to, but doesn’t anymore. The present continues to morph into more of the present, leaving nothing behind. Time/space only exists in the present. The past no longer takes up any time or space; the future has yet to occupy any.

Although we are aware of them, the past and future are concepts that exist only in the mind. The past and future do not exist as a physical reality. However, the concept of the passing of time is absolutely essential for a mobile species navigating a dynamic environment. Movement in time/space requires a conceptual model that includes past, present and future as separate units.

You have heard the expression, “Living in the now”. Why is that important? Because the present is the only reality there is. Everything else is pure imagination. Our imagination works so seamlessly with present reality that we sometimes forget that there is a difference.

Robotics

In order for robots to do meaningful work, they must be able to find and identify objects in a dynamic environment and use that information to achieve some goal or objective. Controlling this kind of “intelligent action” is the domain of Artificial Intelligence. Intelligence, artificial or otherwise, is essential for robots to function in the real world. Current studies in artificial intelligence and robotics outline quite plainly the feedback loops necessary to achieve effective navigation.

Intelligence is applied to robotics in the design itself and in the algorithms stored in its memory. Each algorithm is a solution to a conceptual situation expected to be encountered, essentially stored intelligence. A modern robot can access a nearly unlimited number of intelligently written algorithms, but still have difficulty navigating a dynamic environment. What Artificial Intelligence is trying to find is a way to store wisdom.

We are presently spending billions of dollars employing the some of the most sophisticated technology and intelligent people on the planet in an effort to build robots that can function effectively in the real world. It isn’t easy. Getting a machine to “make sense” out of raw data is tough, but progress is being made. However, one of the most difficult robotic tasks, the ability to navigate within a dynamic environment, is a skill possessed by every mobile species on the planet. We take it for granted, but our ability to navigate requires a highly complex system of recognition, planning and application of force. Although you and i have well developed navigation skills involving excellent senses and big brains, many tiny creatures successfully navigate their equally dynamic environments with much simpler equipment.

Even the simplest robot needs to be able to process some basic information. It needs an internal clock to track time. It requires some senses to establish space. Before any navigation can take place, there must be some way to reference time and space. The same must be true of biological systems. Even the smallest single celled organism is going to need a mechanism to track time. If it can alter its course, it must also possess the ability to navigate. Just like a robot, to navigate, it must be able to reference time and space.

Seems like a job for an information processing system that can stretch the instantaneous present into a sequence of events in time/space. To monitor these events requires a memory as well. In order to navigate, a course must be plotted in time/space, progress monitored and corrections made. If not the direct action of intelligence, that is surely the result of intelligently written algorithms.

After all, the action we are referring to, the navigation of a dynamic environment, requires the referencing of time, recognition of a past and future, which we have already established as the domain of imagination and the mind. If single celled creatures don’t grasp the concept of past, present and future, the system that manages their behavior surely does.

Random Acts of Order

Random: n. without direction, pattern or method adj. left to chance

The more we grasp the concepts of wholeness and interconnectedness, the more we find that our concept of randomness is also in need of some revision. Without pattern or method is really just the opposite of the ordered universe modeled after an information processing system.

From our individual point of view, the events that swirl around us seem to have no rhyme or reason. Our inflated ego considers anything it doesn’t understand as just another accident of blind nature. Of course, the more we learn about the environment and how it behaves, the more obvious it becomes that Nature is not blind, but all knowing.

All events have a string of events leading up to them and a flock of events surrounding them in time. It is our mind that assigns a single name to events for ease of discussion. Close inspection has revealed that all events are controlled by their relationship to all other past and current events. No event stands alone and therefore only exists as a participant in the system or process.

These concepts of wholeness and interconnectedness mean that nothing happens by accident. The concept of a structured universe precludes randomness altogether. The concept that the universe is managed by information leaves no room for random acts. What appear to be random events are those whose information channels have not yet been discovered.

Random Numbers

Computers cannot generate truly random numbers on their own. The reason is that a computer is an extremely precise machine. It operates by making very small and precise mathematical computations. Modern home computers can make billions of precise computations per second, without errors. When an error is encountered, the machine turns this impressive computational power loose on the problem. It employs highly sophisticated error correction routines that restore order to the system by finding and correcting those pesky errors. The computer thrives on precision and accuracy. A random number is an error by definition. There is really no way for a computer to select anything, but a precisely described number.

So programmers have had to use “pseudo-random” number generator scripts to fake it. What most of them do is record the time the function is called as a random event. Then they use its numerical value as input to precisely calculate a number within the range specified. It will only accept one input per time slot, so by the time the second input gets in, the “seed” numbers have changed and they can meet the existing criteria for randomness, but a truly random number it is not. Triggered at a specific time, it will always generate the same “random” number. If scientists want what they consider truly random numbers, they use something like the decay of radioactive materials to generate them.

The only thing random in a computer system is the occurrence of errors. So called random events can be devastating to important computer programs and modern computer technologies would not be possible without highly developed error correction routines.

A close look at biological information processing systems reveals that they suffer from the same deficiency. Random events are errors to be corrected. Each cell performs only highly precise chemical operations dictated by highly robust and efficient coded instructions. Errors in the process itself are all but non existent.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Damage to organisms is not caused by random events, but by broken and damaged input. Just as in a computer system, errors seem random to the system, but have a very real cause, such as scratches or dust on the media surface. Errors in biological systems come from damage to the information being fed to the organism. When fed the proper information, biological systems just do not fail. Errors do occur, but the immune system is very efficient in finding and eliminating damaged cells, while natural selection is equally efficient at eliminating damaged creatures.

Randomness is just not a functional part of such a system. Randomness equals error. Every action within a biological system, is the result of “direction, pattern and method”. Nothing is left to chance. Looking at life from this point of view, the probability that random mutation controls the advance of evolution in biological systems is remote, indeed.

Chosen at Random

Here is a term that shows our confusion with the concept of randomness. To choose is to select according to some criteria, while random means left to chance. To pull a number out of a hat can be random, but to choose an object over others is never random. Choosing is the exercise of free will and the very opposite of randomness. The process of choosing at random means that there are no criteria involved and all options have an equal opportunity of being selected.

In discussions and writings of evolutionary theory there is a term i’ve come across a few times that points out more confusion. The term is “random mating”, and is used regarding transfer of genetic traits within a population. There is really nothing random about mating. All creatures that do it require very specific criteria be met before it takes place. The more complex the creature, the more complex is the mating ritual. Female birds, insects and animals of all kinds require their prospective mate to know how to sing and dance as well as protect her and her young from danger. She watches carefully as the male struts his stuff and chooses the one that best meets her criteria.

Natural selection certainly plays a role in survival of genetic information, but selection by the female is far more important. The female is selecting for the future. She uses species specific markers to assess the male’s health, vitality and ability to protect her from her perceived threats and enemies. She is judging using criteria that have a connection to the male’s genetic information. She is only thinking of which suitor is the best choice, however, the result of all the female choices made over time produce a stronger species.

Another advantage is that subtle and intricate behavior makes it possible for the species to isolate any deviates from the main colony.

Fruit Flies

There was some landmark research done in the 70s with fruit flies that really needs to be looked at in the light of recent DNA discoveries. Back in those days, their criteria for a new species was whether or not it could mate with the old one. In the experiment, fruit fly populations were raised until there were 2500 individuals descendant from a single mating pair. At that time, another mating pair was selected and the remaining flies were destroyed. The new pair were parents to a new 2500 fruit fly family tree. They continued that cycle until the selected flies would no longer mate with the original population. According to the prevailing understanding of “species”, the researchers claimed success: they had caused mutations that produced a new species of fruit fly.

Now we know that there were no changes in the DNA of the fruit flies, they were still exactly the same species. This new subspecies was isolated from the original colony, not by genetic mutation, but because of its behavior. This is a far better way to deal with adversity than risking it all by messing with the code. Instead of mutating DNA to find the solution to a serious problem, (the unexpected and repeated death of 99% of a population by an unknown cause), adjusting behavior is a rational first step in the search for an answer. By isolating the group with the mystery condition from the rest of the colony, the species protects itself while maintaining a possibly advantageous strain. This is the same first step we would take if an unknown agent was suddenly killing off large percentages of human families. We would quarantine them. The fact that biological systems also take this first step towards solution of the problem is lost on neodarwinists.

The question is: how does the species “know” anything at all, and specifically, how does it know that 99% of this population has expired?

The surviving pairs of fruit flies had no direct knowledge of the demise of the unchosen, as they were removed before the rest of the population was destroyed. However, they were connected holographically by virtue of their identical portions of DNA. When the 99% were gassed it caused a major disturbance in their shared coherent electromagnetic field. The surviving pair, as well as the rest of the species had a sudden emotional response, that terrible sinking feeling of dread, that coincided with the death of their comrades. This causes a rise in the anxiety level of surviving pair. It eventually makes them too nervous to mate with the rest of the colony, seeking out those with the same anxieties.

The flatworms showed they could remember a direct trauma and pass the information around within their population. The fruit flies show that they can remember indirect trauma; that experienced by the species, but not the individual.

Holographic Memory Device

Remember the diagram for a holographic memory device? Let’s do some engineering on this holographic process and see if we can’t come up with a more compact design. The diagram we have here is a crude model, but it gives us a place to start. It lays out the process in easy steps. We want to build a really compact unit.

One way to do that, is to eliminate redundancy. Right away we can see that this system uses two crystals, one to create the laser and another to store the image. If we can combine functions in one crystal, we would be way ahead. For that, we need a crystal that creates the laser and also serves as the storage medium.

Crystals of different materials have a wide range of properties that could help us here. In computer design, combining crystalline materials is commonplace.

There are crystals that produce visible light under certain conditions. Crystals seem to be constructed a lot like a house of mirrors. Maybe we can find a way to eliminate the mirrors and get our light source inside the crystal. We need a crystal made from a composite that has all of these properties.

We started with a static diagram and we need something that can store dynamic data. All we have to do to make use of the storage capacity of the hologram is change the angle of the laser to media. So, our crystal needs to be flexible, maybe even liquid.

Well then, crystals could potentially solve all our problems. All we need to do is build a crystal that emits laser light, can direct it, while serving as a flexible storage medium. Sounds like a tough assignment, doesn’t it?

Do you know what crystalline structure, that has been in the news a lot lately, fits all those requirements? It is DNA.

DNA as a Quasicrystal

A pure crystal is made up of one molecule that, combined with itself, forms a core unit that defines the crystalline structure and shape. The centers of adjoining core units are equidistant. A quasicrystal is composed of more than one core unit and can have different distances between adjacent centers. So a quasicrystal repeats the pattern of multiple molecules, while a pure crystal contains only one.

This high degree of organization produces a resonance that serves to amplify the basic molecular signal. For instance, quartz molecules by themselves can’t do much, but as a crystal they can be used to power a simple radio.

Just like a pure crystal, DNA produces a signal. That signal is generated by the combined signals emitted by all the atoms in the quasicrystal. It is just as unique as individual DNA. That signal is called a biophoton. This emission is very weak, but the frequency of that signal is in the spectrum of visible light. So, every cell in your body is emitting light in the range of human sight.

This light is not ordinary light, it is in sync, like light from a laser. Every cell in your body has a DNA crystal clock that is in sync with every other cell in your body. Remember, you started out as a single cell in your mother’s womb. That cell divided, split in two, each getting a copy of your original DNA. Each copy of that DNA maintains the signal’s integrity. In the end you have trillions of cells, all in sync, all singing your unique tune in perfect harmony.

This forms what is called in quantum physics, a coherent electromagnetic field, aka, a hologram that permeates your physical body. Sounds like the aura to me.

This electromagnetic field is in addition to the one that the matter making up your body already generates.

The properties of a coherent electromagnetic field are really quite amazing and the fact that biological systems incorporate them in their design is even more astounding. They go a long ways toward explaining how biology accomplishes sight, navigation and thought.

Data Entry

Ok, we have our compact biological holographic memory device, but how do we get the data from the object we want to save into this crystal?

If we are saving binary data or images, the reflection from the lasers form interference patterns that we save on, or within, media. We create the interference patterns that define the object with our laser light and mirrors. Another way to look at it is that the laser light and mirrors are translating the physical object into a holographic language that can be stored as interference patterns. It is working like a ray tracer in 3D rendering; it is plotting the object’s coordinates. The recorded interference patterns represent the coordinates of the object, along with its texture and reflectivity.

In our DNA memory device we don’t need to translate because the information we want to save is already in the form of interference patterns. What the DNA is recording is the current state of the coherent electromagnetic field that it helps generate. That information is already encoded in holographic language. The input for this memory device comes from its membership in the coherent electromagnetic field it helps generate.

Dr. Fritz-Albert Popp:

“Biological Systems are governed by the special
interaction of a coherent electromagnetic field (biophotons) and biological
matter. There is a permanent feedback coupling between field and matter
in a way that the field directs the location and activity of matter,
while matter provides the boundary conditions of the field. Since
the field is almost fully coherent, the interference patterns of the
field contain the necessary information about the regulatory function.”

Realtime Feedback

A permanent feedback coupling between the cells and the whole organism. The coherent electromagnetic field is a realtime, virtual, purely informational representation of the current state of the matter it represents. As each repeated cycle of activity lays down its present status in holographic interference patterns, they are constantly being compared against past patterns. Realtime feedback.

That means that the whole organism “KNOWS” what every cell is doing and every cell “KNOWS” what every other cell “KNOWS” at the same time. So this hologram being produced by all the cells is instantly sensitive to disturbance anywhere within the organism. That’s the way a holographic system works. This perfectly describes the self-regulating electrochemical process revealed by the Gaia hypothesis.

Besides the coded static information stored in its sequences, our DNA, holographically stores/manages dynamic information within it’s crystalline structure.

What is really the key here is that holographic memory records interference patterns by “altering the internal structure of the medium”. Think about that for a minute. Actions carried out in a coherent electromagnetic field produce interference patterns that in turn alter the molecular structure of the recording medium.

Altered Media

In this case, our DNA produces the coherent electromagnetic field, that produces the interference patterns and is the medium that gets its molecular structure altered.

As the action is repeated, more interference patterns are recorded on top of each other, presumably in some sort of harmonic resonance. This is what is happening in living DNA; it is building a memory that is dynamically changing its own molecular structure.

How does this relate to mutation? Is this the system that manages future generations? Is evolution guided by past action thru this process? It sounds very much like Rupert Sheldrake’s Morphic Fields, doesn’t it?

So the DNA has the properties of a string of code, but also emits a signal that is part of a holographic memory system. This is memory if you are talking about the past, but in the present, this dynamic memory becomes consciousness; awareness of past, present and future.

Since we have only recently discovered these holographic principles we haven’t had time to uncover all of the places that they are operational. However, they can’t be more fundamental than at the quantum level of matter, DNA in biological systems and our own thought process. It should be obvious that these principles permeate all levels of physical reality.

Holographic principles make possible the high level of communication necessary to maintain the consistent supply of nutrients required by every ecosystem. Holographic principles provide the information channels necessary for biological systems to keep track of everything at once, and keep all elements notified.

Single Celled Organisms

Within the Holoverse we have coherent electromagnetic fields that are made up of adjacent agents where the coherent electromagnetic field coincides with the physical structure. There are also coherent electromagnetic fields that are dispersed throughout the environment. They are still connected as one on the informational level while being separate on the physical level. For example, single celled organisms that live in water, but have reproduced by division, all have their DNA in synch just as do all they cells in your body. These cells are all in instant holographic communication with each other as if they were all in the same bag.

Life is driven by cycles, just like computers. Very fast short cycles, linked in harmonic patterns of larger cycles. Computer cycles are a creation of the computer hardware engineers and somewhat arbitrary, while Life cycles are in sync with Natural cycles, the Holoverse.

Time/space only exists for matter, but the Holoverse contains all segments of the cycles driving Life. The Holoverse contains the past as memory and the future as a holographic projection. The past, present and future of any location are accessible through the Holoverse. As far as we know, an awareness is the only way to access this Holoverse.

How can it be both?

When i came back online i considered changing my handle from insomniac, ‘cuz it no longer seemed to fit. Since retirement, i’ve been sleeping straight through.

Well, here i am, three in the morning, pondering at the keyboard, just like old times.

How can it be? How can the Universe be both material and ethereal at the same time? This is a fundamental question being asked over and over in blogs, on message boards, street corners and cafes. It is the single argument with so many different manifestations. Particle or wave, fact or fantasy, mind or matter, determinism or free will all stem from the same question. How can it be both?

Easy; it is all in how you look at it. The Universe consists of matter, energy and information. If you look at the matter by itself, it seems solid enough. If you look at energy by itself, the Universe looks chaotic, random and very hot or cold. If you look at the information by itself, the Universe becomes a phantom history of the doings of solid things amid chaos. Our Universe consists of all three. Considered together our Universe becomes less solid, less chaotic and more rational.

Is it solid or is it imaginary? Both! The Universe is solid, but dynamic, made out of energy and therefore not so solid over time. The interaction of matter and energy over time produce information in the form of an active memory. The Universe isn’t imaginary, but it has an active imagination.

You and i work with our own personal version of that universal user interface. The System lets you perceive your interface any way you see fit. It is done to you as you believe.

cheers,
jim

Flatworms

Science tends to ignore it’s own findings when they don’t fit the currently accepted theory. That’s not a big deal, lots of things in life don’t seem to fit, but it would seem to me that they would pay more attention to anomalies, just because that’s the best way to debug anything. If you are in computer science you look to the anomalies. Those are the clues as to how to eliminate errors. That should be true all across the board, but get into biology and a lot of interesting bits get swept under the rug.

“Some fifteen worms were placed in a small aquarium over which hung an electric light and which was equipped to give its occupants an electric shock. The light went on two seconds before the electric charge came, and very quickly the worms started to react characteristically to the shock from the time the light went on. Using scissors, the experimenters cut each worm in half and put the severed heads and tails into separate aquariums. The experimenters found that all the regenerated worms, both those building from the original tail and those from an original head, retained the memory of this training.”

It’s from a book called “Non-Human Thought”, by Graven, published in ’74. It took about 150 tries before the first flatworms learned that the light meant impending shock. The severed halves figured it out in about 100 tries.

This is representative of a series of standard conditioning experiments done with flat worms that show how our nervous system functions. Granted that we have a far more complex nervous system than does the lowly flatworm, but the basic process is the same.

What is memory?

This brings up the question: What is memory? In the flatworm experiment, they call the process “conditioning”. Whether you call it conditioning, adaptation or learning, the result involves some sort of memory. The organism remembers an event.

It isn’t a vivid memory, but a vague sort of recall that intensifies with repetition. Each time the event happens the memory becomes stronger. The event is remembered as a sequence of events. The memoryof the flatworm identifies the light as the start of the sequence and acts accordingly. Here the lowly flatworm clearly spots the “difference that makes a difference” and initiates action in advance of the shock. Granted that panic wriggling is not a solution to the problem, but there isn’t much else a flatworm can do in a crisis situation. It does show us that the organism recognized the light as a warning that the shock would soon follow.

The most important thing it tells us is that the memory of this “trauma” was recorded in the cells rather than in the brain, which only one end of the flatworm possessed. It also shows us a consistent pattern of learning behavior.

Isn’t this the very same process we go through when we learn everything we do? We practice. Every time we repeat a behavior it gets easier. Our body has to learn the action, just the same way that our brain remembers something. They say our brain remembers by growing “pathways” in our gray matter. The more these pathways are reinforced, the stronger becomes the memory. Our muscles learn the same way. These pathways carry blood and neural signals to the cells. They “remember” the use patterns for the cells they service and are prepared to supply their needs. If the demands increase, the pathways are expanded as necessary.

These pathways are the result of interference patterns created by the appropriate coherent electromagnetic field. The body has a copy that remembers what each muscle has to do and the brain has one that remembers what commands it has to give for the action to take place.

The nervous system of the flatworm learns in the same way that our nervous system learns. This really fits with the concept of holographic memory, where each unit of memory contains the whole, but lacks detail. It is this vague pattern that is filled in by the details as the organism learns its new behavior.

Educated Cannibals

In further experiments, “educated” flatworms were minced and fed to worms that had never faced the light bulb and its shock. These worms also learned the reflex much faster than worms without any clues. What this tells us is that the information recorded in the memories of the minced worms was decoded by the digestive system and understood by the nervous systems of the “cannibal” worms.

What form could a memory take in order for it to pass through the digestive system, be decoded and made available to the living creature? Thirty years and science has yet attempted to answer that question. Science is still trying to find memory in the brain. In that time scientists have carved up the brains of all kinds of creatures trying to eliminate their memory, to no avail. They have studied human subjects with damaged and/or developmentally retarded areas of the brain and found little or no correlation between specific locations of the brain and memory.

On the other hand, the reports of transplant patients having memories related to the donors are legion. How else could this be possible? The model of a holographic memory is the only one that fits, yet it is hard to find a scientist that thinks so.

In the case of the flatworms, their memory is a fact that can be proven by a repeatable experiment. The memory is passed by some natural process that we should be able to identify, but there doesn’t seem to be much interest from the scientific community.

Security Breach

If we were operating a computer system and we found information being encrypted, secreted and passed in such a way, we would be forced to track down the pathways taken by the data and discover its source and destination. It is the job of the IT administrator to maintain the security and integrity of the system and this clearly represents a previously unknown breach of security.

In biology there is no one looking after the integrity of the system they study. The current paradigm doesn’t recognize that the system is controlled by information. It ignores information pathways for the most part. When they find an obvious information pathway, they credit the chemical message carrier and ignore what it does for the system. I guess they still figure that it all runs on the magic of instinct and random encounters. This holographic view of the information channels of nature has been passed around for decades, yet the obsolete paradigm is still dominant.