Let us turn to a different topic. I will ask for your indulgence; I have often said that in my explanations I have a tendency to go “around Cape Horn,” as it were, but I have a destination in mind and we will arrive there. There is a question as to how life came to exist at all, and whether it is simply an accident that happened because conditions were right at this time in this place in this universe. (There are many others in the multiverse, but I doubt that you are ready for that; no insult intended.) “Scientists” often wrestle with this question based so far on a sample size of one – that is, the Earth – and attempt to apply that to uncounted billions of other planets but I am not addressing that weakness at this time, except to point out that they would never accept that in any other endeavor.
We will begin with an exercise in simple logic. The existence of higher dimensions automatically implies the existence of lower ones. In other words, three dimensions – four points with any one of them not in the same plane defined by the other three – implies the existence of two dimensions – three points in the same plane. By the same token, the existence of two dimensions implies the existence of one dimension – two points that constitute a single line. So what does one dimension imply? Well, to begin with, there is a problem, which can be easily illustrated. In a room (preferably with no pets, for obvious reasons) take a laser pointer and shine it on a wall, then let it go out. Shine it at another place on the wall. You have defined two points; now draw a line between them. You cannot, since one of the points no longer exists. Therefore, one dimension implies the existence of duration or simultaneity, i.e. time. It may not be important, but time cannot be envisioned as the fourth dimension since that does not imply the existence of three dimensions. Rather it is more basic; it must exist first, if only by the most infinitesimal margin, so that anything else can, including the Big Bang. (That is probably the source of the flaw caused by someone who grew up believing this universe existed in a steady state.)
From this, I began to consider whether that implied an even more basic dimension. Personal experience leads me to the conclusion that there is. I will not expound upon my experiences or their sources nor will I respond to questions about them. As usual, my purpose is to get you to think about things, not to convince you or supply you with answers. I am not a psychic or a spiritualist nor am I under the influence or control of such individuals, although I have always chosen to keep an open mind. That said; I have reason to know that the souls of the dead do not experience time. My experiences and knowledge are adequate enough to my purposes to lead me along certain lines of thought. Accepting that existence and consciousness continue beyond death and a part of that constitutes a deconnection from time, then I believe it follows that they are in a more basic dimension than time. I have so far chosen to consider this the “Life” dimension.
I cannot stress strongly enough that in no way do I think that the “Life” dimension has any theological or deistic implications or involvement. The gods or god or “God” that many believe in are far too small to encompass this concept.
Now we have arrived at our destination. When I started viewing things from this angle I realized that the whole question of, “How did life happen in this universe?” is backwards. The answer that has not yet been considered is that this universe exists because Life wanted a place to happen and I do not mean just human or intelligent or alien or complex life. It has correctly been pointed out by others, for instance, that evolution had no goal. The earliest living things on Earth did not adapt and change so that someday the planet would be overrun by humans.
Some years ago there was a science fiction TV series called Babylon 5, on which one of the alien races was called the Minbari. A Minbari character once stated that one of their basic beliefs was that, “Life (presumably all life – CW) is the Universe trying to understand itself.” I find that there is a simple elegance in that belief, and I also think that it may well be related to what I previously stated.
Gort, berenga.