Laws of Nature

Last week I came across an article announcing the acceptance of a new Law of Nature. I thought this was pretty exciting! It was so exciting that I copied the link to the article and sent it to my brother and sisters. A couple of days later during our weekly family Zoom call, my sister asked me what it was I sent her as she had no idea what the heck it was talking about. This is not the first time that I have gotten excited about matters of philosophy and the natural order of the universe that holds zero interest to others. I see implications in such matters that are relevant to how I relate to my day-to-day life that tend to be meaningless to others.

Let’s touch upon this “New” law of nature to see what I mean. The new law is termed the “Law of Increasing Functional Information.” At first glance, this sounds pretty vague. So far I would give it a nine on the yawn-o-meter. His law was conceived through the collaboration of three philosophers of science, two astrobiologists, a data scientist, a mineralogist, and a theoretical physicist. The question they were trying to answer has been a real puzzler forever – why do complex systems, including life, evolve toward greater functional information over time?  If we look at this question on just a biological level, we come up with what amounts to Darwin’s theory of evolution. But what this diverse group of scientists were seeing is that this evolution happens at all levels of reality. It happens to stars and planets, to atoms and minerals, to molecules and cells, to every complex system that can exist in multiple forms where certain functions are selectively sustainable and others are not.

That last sentence will probably have my sister’s eyes rolling back in her head as she nods off, so let me give a concrete example. We are all aware of how the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun in a disc-like fashion in circular orbits. The question is why do they do that? Yes, we know that the gravitational pull of the sun keeps them from flying away, but why do they follow the paths they do follow; all so neat and orderly? They could all spin around the sun in wild elliptical orbits like many comets do. They could all spin around in different planes and at different angles to each other. Where does the order come from? The concept here is that this is evolution in action. This pattern we have is more stable and therefore sustainable. Other patterns may have existed at one time and planets may have crashed into each other as a result. In this example the function being selected for is harmonious movement – no crashing into each other. Basically what works the best is what survives. That is the simple form of this “new law of nature.” Nature moves toward what works the best and weeds out stuff that does not work well. Philosophy is just wordy common sense.

The simple idea of doing what works the best and dumping the rest should be obvious common sense in my view. But very little of human affairs work this way. I have muttered to many patients how common sense does not appear to be all that common. But I suspect that my perspective is simply because I have not stepped back far enough to see the really big picture. On that level, everything is working perfectly in accordance with the laws of nature. It is on the small local level where I live and where the unsustainable human-level events are still being weeded out that I am not happy with the nonsense. As a therapist-patient said to me recently, “In the end, reality always wins.”

Reaching for the function of stability is not the only function this new law highlights. The formation of dynamic systems, systems that follow cyclic patterns over time when supplied with ongoing energy, also follows this new law of nature. Dynamic systems are everywhere, from biology and chemistry to economics and history. The universe seems to favor this type of cyclic behavior on all levels.

The third and possibly most interesting function featured in the new law is the function of novelty. Nature seeks out new and novel patterns and configurations resulting in completely new behaviors. The example used in the article was how nature developed the ability of plants to convert sunlight and CO2 into sugars – photosynthesis. That was a total surprise evolution. Nothing before that predicted this would develop. Nature does this sort of evolutionary leap at all levels – from the microscopic to the universal. To me, this suggests the universe is intelligent on some level. There is a natural order to all things that defies chaos and degeneration.

This last concept is part of why this new natural law makes an impact in the world of science. The predominant view of science for the last several hundred years has been of a very mechanistic universe like a giant clock that got all wound up at the beginning with the Big Bang and has been gradually winding down ever since. The working assumption of scientists has been that everything tends towards chaos and zero energy. Eventually, the entire universe will degenerate into a very thin vanilla pudding. This new law flies in the face of the traditionalists and says no! The universe is evolving into ever more complex forms with higher orders of functioning. Once you embrace this perception you come to the acceptance that the formation of life is a natural function of the universe. The universe is not a sterile slowly dying mush of cosmic dust, but alive with infinite diversity of form and function.

Is this true? I don’t know. But seeing the natural order of the universe tend toward greater complexity of function, pattern, and diversity on all levels certainly suggests evolution is the norm for the universe. That being the case, then evolution is the norm for us humans as well. Darwin only looked at the function of survival long enough to reproduce as the defining function of being alive. But if that were true then why would we continue to survive past the age of reproduction? There are other functions that are being selected for in this thing we call life. We seek more than just simple survival. The plant and animal kingdoms demonstrate the immensely diverse methods nature has created to ensure simple survival. We humans engage in all sorts of behaviors that have nothing to do with survival. In fact, many of our behaviors actually threaten our survival. How else can you explain the popularity of the most recent death sport — pickleball?

How does this understanding of this newly described law of nature impact my life? Honestly, I embraced this perspective a long time ago. This perspective is built into most religions and philosophies, particularly Eastern philosophies. Western religion tended to be more cut and dried right vs wrong-oriented until the Renaissance, and that shift began with the importation of some Eastern philosophy by Marco Polo and other Eastern traders. This brought in the idea that men and women could evolve to become more than they are today. We accept that as obvious now, but that was a completely foreign thought prior to the 15^th century in Europe. I am a product of the psychology generation. I view everything I think and feel as a product of beliefs, hopes, and fears I carry mostly from my childhood. Every day of my life is about my evolution into a higher order of functioning. Sometimes that is achieved by facing and overcoming old limitations by learning new skills. Other times it is about my constant thirst for new understandings about how life works. Sometimes it is just about how to turn something currently uncomfortable (meaning me) into something more comfortable.

Life is a continuous adventure. There is never an end to the learning available. Even in the process of aging and dying, in the hopelessness of ever winning this battle, there are deep and beautiful new understandings to be gained. The experience of life offers us this opportunity. It is up to us to grab these chances to grow and evolve right up to the last minute to take meaning from our lives.

Take care,

David

Ellen 

Ellen is hosting a tea party tomorrow. As usual she likes to get the table set well in advance. This is a get together of gals that met 15 years ago in a Tai Chi class back at my old office on Sunset Ave. They have been getting together occasionally ever since.