The Meaning of Life
This is not a friendly nor poetic meaning of life by any stretch. It is one small part science, one giant part assumption. Simply stated, the purpose of life (well at least to the universe) is to allow various elements to co-exist in smaller spaces than would otherwise be possible. A micro-cosm representative of the elements of the universe on a much smaller scale. If several rocks of different elements collided in space, you would still have relatively large spaces between them. Chemical reactions are better, but are limited to the number of interacting elements. In a super compressed space, such as a black hole, the elements would be destroyed. In life however, we allow small portions of different elements to interact from a single cell to more complex animals and human beings.
I haven’t given it as much thought as I would like, mainly because it isn’t as grand as a meaning of life to discover self awareness or to be at one with the universe on a conscious level. However I think there is some merit to this hypothesis/theory. It could be applied perhaps to try to understand how the first life formed, if we were to approach it as what allows the most elements to exist in the smallest space (relative to the universe at large) possible.
Personally, I’ve given some odd thought to protocellular material. Taking advantage of natural occuring cells, such as bubbles in a pool of ammonia or perhaps a denser material. This material would take advantage of these bubbles as a slight defense to the surrounding environment, confering perhaps a small but a real advantage. Several biologists I have spoken with are of the mind that DNA predated other microcellular material but I am hestitant to agree. I think DNA originally was a method of sharing resources amongst colonies of advantage cells (those that use natural bubbles to serve as a cell wall). There could be ‘locks’ on the original strands of DNA to prevent competing pre-cell types from accessing materials necessary in reproduction/food. Eventually, cells began to act as a more cohesive unit and further down the road to create their own cell walls. I’m not a biologist, so there could be a number of flaws with these ideas-I hardly think bio 101 and chem 100 qualify me as novice.
