Saturday 2 December 2000

Pic of the day: Reading Philosophy Now. How come, that words can change the face of the world, when we are all made of the most ordinary matter?

Super/natural

Atoms will be atoms. Obeying the unflinching laws of nature, they bond together following a few simple rules. Each atom has an outer shell of electrons, and this shell has an optimal number. In order to fill that number, atoms will share electrons. The better they fill each other's needs, the stronger they bind together. I'm not saying this as some kind of metaphor or something. It's the way things are, and from this simple rule comes all the laws of chemistry, and all that we experience as matter: Gaseous, fluid or solid. And of the same stuff are we made.

Molecules drift along, buffeted by the vibrations which even the slightest heat sets in motion. And as the molecules meet, they may or may not join one another, or split apart. They have no knowledge of what they are doing, no plan, no purpose. They are just clumps of atoms that act according to their nature.

The same holds true even for large molecules. Usually these are based on carbon: This element binds easily to some of the most common elements in the atmosphere, as well as to itself. Thanks to carbon's self affinity, these molecules can string together in long chains. Examples of these are the proteins in our cells. But apart from their size, they are quite like other molecules.

***

The living cell consists of a soup of chemicals, but not quite that simple. At least for the cells in plants and animals (and then some). These cells with a nucleus (eukaryotes) are fairly complex, while bacteria are simpler. We eukaryotes have not just a nucleus, but also various other structures within the cell. These are known as organelles, meaning small organs. While not a nice thing to call a guy, it's quite an accomplishment for a cell. A common theory these days is that the organelles were once separate cells, that sought together (or were swallowed by a larger cell, perhaps) and have later devolved into mere cell organs. Mitochondria, the ones that burn sugar and fat to create our energy, still have their own DNA that is quite different from the usual variant. They seem to represent a form of cell that is very very ancient, and that has remained to our time only inside the larger eukaryote cell.

The complexity of a cell is staggering. It is not just a nanomachine: It is a nano-factory, with many specialized functions adjusting themselves automatically. There is no intelligence overseeing this tiny factory: Feedback from one process to another hold the various activities in check and set their priorities at any given time. Despite its fully chemical nature, a cell can react in a fraction of a second. In fact, when you read this, your eyes move for every few words (at the very least). The muscles around your eyes consist of groups of long, cable-like cells. Every couple of words, your brain sends a signal that is passed on in all due haste by neuron after neuron, until it comes to these muscles. At once they react by contracting or relaxing as needed, and your eyes move. You don't even need to think of it. And all this happens chemically.

All that we do, all that we even think or feel, is done chemically. It is all due to clumps of atoms, dissolved in water - we're about 3/4 water - clumps of atoms that unite or divide according to the simple rules of nature. It all depends on which atoms are where at any given time. If they complement each other, the molecules are drawn together. If another, stronger binding presents itself, the former binding may be dissolved, and the molecules detach. And so it goes on and on, simple natural processes. There is nothing mysterious or supernatural about it - it all follows from the basic properties of each atom.

That there is no mystery is the greatest mystery of all.

***

From the core of our being, we cry out: "I'm not just a clump of atoms, I'm a free human!" Certainly it does not make sense to us that we are only chemicals that react according to the well known, simple laws of physics (and chemistry, which is really a subsection of physics). We love or hate, we appreciate beauty and ethics, we make choices after thinking them over. We create works of art, we understand, we empathize. Our soul is more evident to us than is our body - for all knowledge of the outer world is filtered through our perceptions, our awareness.

And yet - you can take any cell of your brain and squish it, and you will find nothing but chemicals. And not very rare ones at that: Mostly the stuff of the atmosphere, with a little grain of dust added in. Oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, a little bit of natrium and potassium (kalium, for European readers) and perhaps calcium. Common elements. We know them, we know how they act and react. Blindly, following the simple laws of nature. And yet, of this are we made.

Somehow, something has happened. Inbetween the individual chemicals and the cell, somewhere in there where we have lost track, life begins. And somewhere, among the billions of simple brain cells, thoughts form. If the brain is damaged, so is our capacity for thought. Evidently we are physical, no matter how much we want to be spiritual beings. The brain is more than just a vehicle for the soul. It profoundly influences our thought. And yet ...

Words can make our heart beat faster; beauty can make us weep with joy. A thought can change our life, send us across the planet. Ideas built the Great Wall and sent people to the moon.

If you have billions of stones, you have a mountain. It does not think, as far as we know; it sure doesn't talk. If you have billions of raindrops, you have a lake; but it doesn't sing or dance or laugh or love. Not even a forest, consisting of a billion trees, seems to be sentient the way we are. There is something strange with us: We are made of the most common stuff around, and yet we are unique. Well, on this planet at least ...