No Intelligent Design Nor accident

Layers is the answer. Energy sustains in the form of atoms. Atoms tend to go to the next layer of complexity, the molecule. Then comes the next layer, mr. virus, so on and so forth... This theme is followed by all orginized activities in this world. The only question is, `how come?`

In a modren computer, the basic hardware is very very simple. At the lowest level, it can only do add, shift and inverse operations with binary numbers which is pretty low tech. But stuff as complex as Quake can be built on top of those operations (provided they happen quick enough). This happenned in a course of less than 50 years. This shows the potential which is there in the provisions and working of the universe.

To me, life seems to be a hobby of nature, because otherwise it has nothing to do. Just like a kid makes small shapes of clay. But this kid is smart.

My apologies to all for not having responded earlier. As it was a take off on a Mohammad Gill’s article in early may and not very carefully written and I did not see it appearing, my conclusion was that it was not considered worthy. I also could not visit Chowk for last month.
Yes I did not bother much about coherence and wrote without giving myself much trouble a la Gill saheb. must do better next time. Thanks to Beejay for help and encouragement.
Re: 3& 7 Inquirer: Philosophy (Darshan= ‘logic by demonstration’ in sanskrit) is utmost science, encompasses mechanics, physics..all. But it is certainly not Indian religious mysticism which passes for philosophy. It is no claim to be a student of philosophy but I do love reading all that makes sense and even though it may not be coherent, I still hope it was nowhere self contradictory. Please point out if it was.
#2 Azur: Yes I also wondered at times whether anybody would really crave to live on, as software or even as a fully functional body, if you just take out the genes working on emotions. Are’nt the soldiers or assassins taught to turn them off. But even as software, you may have emotions and sex. Take the case of your robot. Imagine it running on a software which rewards it with a rejuvenating maintenance if it helps other robots in their daily chores. As for your question on Self replication, it may be necessary to adjust to changing environment. Instead of accepting the environment and adopting our selves we teach ourselves to control the environment to the point where any unlearning creates so many social and psychological adjustment problems ( Ek hamara jamana tha….). I do not see why two robots cannot create a new copy of their own self starting from raw material as we humans do. They don’t have to cannibalise themselves.
#4 Ullu ka Pattha: Sir, Do you really think life and specially ‘human’ is designed for something specific and great. With only afterlife promises to most noble and well behaved and rewarding with all worldly pleasures to those who deserve them least, can we really call it useful allocation of resources by ‘God’? The only alibi God has is his inexistence.
Cordially.
Sharad

Schandra Tripathi you say:

``In fact, the drive to mutate, even at the cost of their own death is greatest among those creatures who are trying to control their environment.``

and again...

``But then why a virus will try to `survive` when it is not living. It does not even have a cell. It changes form from one kind of flu, Aids, etc.to another. It will mutate to another kind just to survive our attempts to eradicate it.``

Not so. There`s nothing purposeful in it - no DRIVE to mutate, no TRYING to `survive` no WILL mutate - at all. You seem to have misunderstood how evolution and natural selection work.

What we cannot count, or estimate, are the life-supporting planets that might exist in other - or parallel as some would say - universes. Why should the known (the one known to us, that is) universe be the only one? Our knowledge doesn`t stretch beyond our own surroundings, even when we consider that to be this entire universe. Did it all begin from nothing, as some scientists speculate? Can you, or anyone, conceive of this pre-cosmic ``nothing?`` Not I, said the pig.

mirmir