To Believe: A Man’s Quest to Understand Reality

by M I A Harba

  When a computer needs to transfer information from its storage device, e.g. its hard drive, to a human, it encounters and has to deal with the severe human limitations. A computer might present the information to the human as a written document displayed on the screen. Creating this document by the computer is very fast but reading it by a human is incredibly slow, compared to the speed of a computer. The computer has to wait for ages in its own computer time, for the human to finish a page and to display the next page. Waiting for the human to request a new page is like a human waiting for months, if not years, for someone to request another piece of information.

  A computer can also convey its stored information to the human as synthesised speech, but here again, the speed is limited by how fast humans understand spoken words. All ways of conveying information between computers and humans are limited because humans’ knowledge transfer is based on their language, whether written or spoken, which has a limited natural speed.

  Although humans have communicated at relatively low speed, this has not been detrimental to their survival. They managed to develop languages and ways of writing and reading to avert danger or to pass their knowledge from one generation to the next. However, even with this limited speed of knowledge transfer, humans have excelled in their innovations and managed to invent the computers that are being compared to.

  Human’s knowledge is a learned knowledge, rather than a built-in knowledge. Nature has not built brains with intrinsic knowledge of languages and reading or writing, for example. Children need to learn their languages and how to read and write.

  Is this the best nature can do? It built humans to be each an individual power generator who needs to learn skills as they grow and lose these skills and knowledge when they die. New-born babies have to learn everything all over again and add their own knowledge to whatever had been known before. In other words, knowledge building is incremental over the generations.

  The newer generation learns previous knowledge that has been left in books or other kinds of storage and add to them as they grow and die. Every generation builds on the knowledge of the previous generation, which is tightly coupled to the life spans of humans.

  Irrespective of the low speed of transfer of this knowledge, humans managed to be intuitive and improved their skills and tools. They travelled to the moon, they sent satellites into space and invented many machines and technologies that made their life more comfortable.

  The relatively slow knowledge transfer between the generations has not proven to be a hindrance if time is not an issue. Of course, time has not been an issue with nature as it managed its evolution slowly over millions, if not billions, of years.

  Going back to the original argument of why the existence, and why there is a need for building humans the way they are, many unknowns still exist. Why did nature opt for an incremental increase in knowledge? Why is it necessary for nature to go this way?

  Evolutionists say that survival and the continuation of the species is the prime objective of how animals and plants improve. So, survival is the objective. But why is it an objective? Is it really necessary?

  Life might flourish and die immediately. What’s in it for nature? Why would nature worry about these animals or plants staying alive or dying off? Of course, this argument may be extended to the original single cell, the starting point of life on earth. Why is survival so important? What makes the existence of animals and plants so essential that evolution has done everything possible to keep it going?

  There must be a purpose for this. Religion says the Creator created the animals and plants, and they, at least humans, are there to worship Him, the Creator. So this is the main objective of life from the religious point of view. But from the evolution point of view, survival is the prime objective. However, evolution does not explain why it is so necessary for animals and plants to survive, and to be there.

  Sam wanted to look at it from a different perspective. The brain uses the energy generated by the body for the purpose of consciousness. So, is consciousness the prime objective for evolution? Is consciousness the drive for animals to improve and get better with time? The theory explained by Dr Al-Harith suggests that consciousness starts from the elementary level of the sub-particles. As one moves up in levels, the accumulated consciousness seems to increase, until it reaches the human level. But are humans the endpoint? Is there something beyond humans that consciousness is trying to reach?

  Many scientists are edging towards believing the concept of Panpsychism, where consciousness improves as evolution progresses. Perhaps, the ultimate consciousness is the universal consciousness!

  Sam started to believe that consciousness fills the entire universe. Consciousness instils itself in all objects, at all levels known so far. There must be more levels to reach.

  If one believes this concept, then, as some theories believe, consciousness does not originate from the brain, but it's always there and, somehow, it instils itself in the brain. They also speculate a relation between the universal consciousness and the consciousness of the individual beings.

  It started to make sense to Sam now. Consciousness is the reason behind everything. It is the prime objective of evolution, and as animals, and plants, progress through evolution, they get equipped for a higher level of consciousness. That is what he saw in humans at that moment.

  Consciousness has created or helped create the humans to what we see today, through the process of evolution. Consciousness seems to be content with the speed of advancement of humans, and, although the increased knowledge is slow, it is persistent.

  Thousands of years, or even millions of years, is OK for the universal consciousness to produce these animals in the way nature has made them. It has no urgency. Survival is what consciousness has instilled in all animals’ brains. It built the senses, through evolution, for the prime objective of survival, particularly the survival of the body and brain. It needs the brain to facilitate consciousness and to transfer knowledge to the new generations as time moves on. The brain is an integral component of consciousness, although this is still not understood.

  Evolution built the senses for what is essential for survival. For example, the eyes don't need to see but the external shapes of objects, and that should be more than sufficient for survival. Having good hearing helps survival, too, as they help against predators if they creep from behind, outside their area of vision. A good smell capability is essential to look for food, for their power generation. A good taste is needed to avoid stuff not good for the body. Isn't it surprising that all bad stuff, or most of it, taste unfavourable to humans and animals? A good touch to feel the difference between different materials helps for survival, too.

  For survival, other additional sensory might not be necessary. For example, if another sensory organ is built within the human body, so humans can see X-rays, would this improve their survival? X-rays can tell the brain of the internal constituents of the object being observed. But that is, perhaps, not necessary for survival. You don't need to worry about the internals of a tiger, but you need to know where the tiger is and to avoid it, for survival.

  Sam started to believe seriously that consciousness is the prime objective for evolution. Consciousness has devised survival to be the main prime mover of evolution because it achieves the desired objective. This appeared as a good theory for Sam to explain how all life aspects worked together.

  But where does the Simulation Hypothesis come into this? Sam’s newly discovered understanding stipulates that universal consciousness is what pushes life to come into existence and is the main driver of evolution. As time moves on, it makes life acquire better levels of consciousness.

  In the Simulation Hypothesis, the characters are controlled by the programmer or the programme. Some intelligence has been instilled in the simulated characters, but the overall and ultimate intelligence remains with the programme, or with the simulation process itself. The Simulation Hypothesis might argue that evolution is part of the simulat
ion process. The characters cannot be created immediately when the simulation programme starts, but gradually. And this is how it interprets evolution, a gradual creation of the characters as the programme goes through its start-up sequences.

  This might be so, but Sam could not make up his mind whether to believe one theory or the other. Maybe, this was the reason why he opted for solitude, to give his brain time and space to think about the various advances in physics and computer science, to make sense of it.

  Is it possible to develop a sense that goes beyond our standard senses that create the 3D space we see around us? We are limited by what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel. The reality that our brain builds is based on input from these senses.

  When humans invented tools, they started to look beyond what the standard senses could provide. With the telescope, for example, they could see the outer planets and the universe they couldn’t see clearly before. Without telescopes, humans will still be limited in their vision. The invention of the microscope helped them see germs and other small particles that were unknown to them. The electronic microscope allowed them to see at the atom level. There are many other examples of inventions to look at reality at different levels.

  But were these necessary for the survival of the early humans? Obviously not, because being able to see far planets played no part in their survival. They didn't need to see germs and viruses because their bodies themselves produced protection against them, in the form of antibodies that humans were not even aware of, or if they existed.

  All this leads back to the argument that consciousness, through evolution, provided what is necessary for the survival of the early human. Anything beyond that is not essential then.

  As humans developed further, and survival was no longer an issue, they were pushed by consciousness to invent new tools to expand their knowledge beyond the need for survival. Why? And where is consciousness pushing humans to?

  Consciousness cannot stop at the human level. The expansion of knowledge, and perhaps the expansion of the consciousness of the humans’ minds, necessitates the invention and use of tools that we see nowadays. These tools have enhanced human’s knowledge immensely. Currently, human knowledge is seen expanding almost exponentially. Some say the knowledge acquired within the last 10 years is equivalent to all the knowledge acquired throughout the history of humans. And of course, if knowledge continues to expand at this rate, as most expect it to, then maybe consciousness will expand and reach levels beyond what humans currently have.

  Consciousness is the prime mover of everything, Sam gradually came to believe.

  It was getting late in the afternoon, and Sam had been completely absorbed in this new revelation. He felt clarity was descending upon him at last, slowly but surely. However, he was not there yet.

  How he saw evolution linked to consciousness, and how nature’s chosen path for knowledge and knowledge transfer differed from computers, were a strong starting point for his beliefs. But was it the simulation, or universal consciousness that drove evolution? He was still unclear.

  The sky started acquiring its dark blue hue, and some early stars began to show, glittering against this beautiful background. It was hard to imagine this to be an illusion, and that the stars and everything in the universe are but empty space. He worried if he saw the true objective reality beyond his current senses, nature and the universe might lose their beauty, might not look as beautiful.

  What if he saw flowers without colours since colours don't exist? What happens if the beautiful scent of the flowers is nothing more than a few chemicals flowing through the air? What happens if the stars shining in the sky are no longer visible in the way they are, but completely transparent objects?

  It was very disturbing to his poor mind. He would prefer reality to remain the way it is, beautiful as everybody saw it. Should he accept what he saw was sufficient, and keep to it? Wouldn't that be satisfying for consciousness? Or is consciousness the reason behind man digging deep into physics to uncover the reality as it really is?

  If consciousness is the main reason causing man to investigate reality, as some scientists believe at the moment, then consciousness has an objective, a goal in this exercise. Consciousness must want to reveal this hidden reality to us now. But why? Is consciousness trying to evolve humans to beings of higher consciousness?

  He thought he was comfortable with the idea of consciousness driving evolution for the sake of producing conscious beings better at integrating with the conscious universe, for some reason. But he remained dubious about the reasons for this need of consciousness. Why?

  At the camp, he went first to the pickup to collect those clay artefacts he found the other day. As well as these, he placed the bead he discovered earlier today in a strong envelope. These would be sent to his friend in Baghdad, Dr Khalifa, to date them if possible and perhaps shed some light on their origin.

  He went to the store tent, switched on the LED lights, and started preparing his evening meal. His mind was still astray with the ideas of the early afternoon, though. His dinner was a rice dish, okra, and lamb stew that he loved. It took about one hour to prepare, and he ate it at the table outside.

  It was still another two days before the labourers arrived back at the camp, and he couldn't wait for their return. He was already finding it hard to be alone, and the loneliness was digging deep in his soul. So, what would happen if the construction works were completed, and he started to live alone in earnest? Surely, his loneliness would be magnified in the knowledge that it was for months on end. However, his being away from everyone and having time to ponder on the confusing thoughts within his mind were already producing results. The purpose of consciousness, its place in our evolution, and the way we had evolved was already a worthy outcome of his loneliness.

  He went to bed early that night, exhausted with the conflicting ideas that echoed within his skull, as well as the long walk he underwent that day.

  But as with previous nights, his demonic visions returned, and the feeling of presence around him was more pronounced. He imagined beings waiting outside the tent, trying to attract his attention. He thought about the Bedouin guest a couple of nights ago and his mysterious appearance and disappearance. He didn't even make the effort of asking him his name. He remembered that Bedouin was addressing him with his own name. How was that possible? Sam did not tell him his name!

  The noises and creaks of the wooden planks of the door barricade kept him edgy and anxious. Sometimes, they sounded like real knocks, and he dreaded standing up to see what's behind the planks. It could be another elusive visitor, or maybe, a replica of the previous one, and that really scared him.

  It was a long time before he fell asleep. When he woke up, it was early morning, and the sun was already shining. He was grateful he wasn't disturbed that night and his sleep was good. He got up, had a wash and made a quick breakfast. He sat on his chair looking at the void ahead and thinking about what all this was about.

  He wondered, if everything was empty space, what makes some empty space alive and conscious, and other empty space dead, not conscious? Humans and animals are essentially built of atoms that are empty space, yet they are conscious. Other things, like the chair he was sitting on, or the table next to him, are also built out of atoms, which are empty space, too. So what makes some items alive and conscious, while others unconscious?

  A new understanding descended upon him. Humans and animals are created from atoms and molecules that organise themselves in layers. The bottom layer is the quarks, then, moving up, come the protons and neutrons, then the atoms and then the elements. The molecules made of the elements create simple compounds and proteins. Some proteins play an important part in the building of the DNA. This DNA contains the code of how the layers above it are built. The DNA, and the human genome, are one of the greatest inventions of mankind. These could not be seen by the unaided standard senses of humans, but with tools.

  On top of that layer, there is the cell layer, and
on top of that, there are the tissues. The tissues build the organs and ultimately the body. There is a layering structure in how a live body is made. Isn't this similar to how software is organised?

  In software, the programme is structured in layers, starting from the lowest layer where the software connects with the hardware directly. Then on top of that, we have layers that provide functionality, but not specifically the objectives of the programme, e.g. the device drivers. On top of those, other software components such as classes, like Java classes for example, are coded, and these classes are combined functionally to generate the functionality of the programme. There is a similarity between how the live body is structured and how software is structured.

  The animals and plants have a very complex but organised structure of atoms, whereas objects like the table consist of structures of atoms, elements, and molecules that are in a steady-state or a static state. These structures are rigid and do not allow the changes required by evolution. Maybe, this is the difference between why the human atomic structure is alive, and the atomic structures of tables and things are not. It's the complexity and the organised arrangement of these atoms that create the big difference between live and non-live beings.

  However, one theory says consciousness goes down right to the level of atoms. The atomic structure of things must possess some kind of consciousness. But how? The table is a thing and does not have obvious consciousness, or does it?

  A table keeps its shape under normal circumstances, so is it conscious of that particular shape? It resists all changes to that shape, and if you try to squeeze it, it resists your squeeze. If you do anything to the table, it will resist it and will not change its shape. However, if you use a red-hot nail or a pin, it will overcome the resistance of the atomic structure of the table and will penetrate it. So, wood is aware of its environment and will resist any changes to itself unless it encounters something beyond its ability.