You're saying that if a virus doesn't evolve to the next evolutionary step, then it definetly is at it's highest evolutionary peak.

Not really. There is no "next step" as far as evolution is concerned. It is as Richard Dawkins says, a blind watchmaker, where random mutations are selected for or against depending on the envirnment the organism finds itself in (over time and across generations). The virus in my comment above is as "fit" for its environment as we are for ours, it is as highly evolved as we are.

I didn't understand your virus analogy, but after giving it more thought I think I do. You're saying that if a virus doesn't evolve to the next evolutionary step, then it definetly is at it's highest evolutionary peak. So just like maybe if there is a higher level, then it might not neccessarily be from humans, or anything on this planet. Afterall certain animals went extinct. Seems the universe is laughing at us, and we're laughing at the universe.

The universe's big bang started 13.7 billion years ago. Forces -> Energy -> sub-atomic particles -> atoms -> elements -> compounds -> prokaryote -> eukaryote -> multi-celled organisms -> senses -> instincts -> emotions -> consciousness -> the thinking mind. This is the evolution of the universe as we know it.

Patrik, you make the often mad mistake of assuming evolution is necessarily progressive. There is no inevitability to intelligence evolving, the fact that it has in our species is a result of the particular selection pressures we experienced so that in hindsight we can see ourselves as a pinnacle of evolution. However the simplest virus around today is also at the pinnacle of its own evolutionary story so from its perspective the whole sequence from the big bang onwards was for its benefit.

The universe's big bang started 13.7 billion years ago. Forces -> Energy -> sub-atomic particles -> atoms -> elements -> compounds -> prokaryote -> eukaryote -> multi-celled organisms -> senses -> instincts -> emotions -> consciousness -> the thinking mind. This is the evolution of the universe as we know it. Each transition to each step has been a complicated process, and we don't totally understand ALL of the transitions. But one thing for sure is that the universe has evolved 13.7 billion years, all to make small pieces of it become aware of itself.

If the universe can be explained through a science, and the universe created a thinking mind. Then there is a science behind the thinking mind, there are chain connections that make us think in different ways. Notice that the time between each step gets smaller and smaller, making me think that the thinkind mind is evolving itself. And there's proof! everyday! our mind controls the interactions of senses with memory, our senses interact with our bodies, our bodies have now gone as far as interacting with subatomic particles... it's only a matter of time before we observe the transition Energy Matter (May 2008 to be exact, LHC, look it up, eventhough I'm sure all of you reading this all ready know about it).

So it makes you wonder, the universe has created the thinking mind to perhaps further evolve itself. Maybe the answers to where we (as a universe) are headed, is to found within where we (as a human society) are headed. Which I can tell you my thought on it.

I think as the universe evolves (ie. animals -> senses -> emotions -> consciousness -> thinking mind) the next step depends on the previous step, and any given step manipulates the previous one. This also explains how we can manipulate sub atomic particles, because we use our minds to control our senses, and our senses to control our bodies, and our bodies to control complex matter (compounds), and so forth until we get further and further down to pure energy, and maybe beyond that. If you notice humans are in the direction of separating our bodies from our minds, dehumanization. We're all ready predicting our minds been loaded into computers, something that can live a lot longer. The universe has granted us a VERY small window of opportunity for our minds, lets let our minds evolve further. The universe has gotten us so far, we are the universe, and this is our role, to figure out what the hell is going on here, and if that means transferring our memories to robots thousands of years down the line... well that just is the evolution of the universe.

Scientists have always asked HOW instead of WHY. Religion has always asked WHY instead of HOW. I think by asking WHY first, you will confuse yourself, you fill in the things you don't understand with fantasies (ie. gods), things that don't make sense, which causes all our fears about what we don't understand, and this causes all our problems, hence the reason for laws... everything can be explained through a science, and this is just what I think, and probably many many others.

The reason why so much of the public doesn't know about our true origins is because we are in the middle of a human evolution CUSP. As we get more experience as a race, we become smarter... notice there are a lot more science based people nowadays than there were 1000 years ago? 100 years ago? 10 years ago? So yes, you may not realize it yet, but we are living in the biggest cusp of mental evolution. Hence the reason for so many religions still around, but they are disappearing, and everyone is aware of it.

Do I believe there is some sort of higher power? Until it's proven one way or not, I will always suspect it, but never let it get in the way of my understanding of how EVERYTHING works. Makes you think, if you know how everything about everything works, you're essentially the next evolutionary step, you'll know how we sense, how we think, how objects were made, the forces behind everything. And if you have the ability to think beyond the next level of the mind, then yes, you will be able to manipulate any mind of the lower food chain class. Is this not ethical? Ethics was an invention of the human mind in order to create law to control the less knowledgable public. You have to admit if everyone thought like we do, then there would be no reason for any law because we all would understand how minds work and how emotions work, there would be no ego... this is the direction we're headed in, so religious people I'm sorry, but yes you did grow up believing a false reality to keep you from going insane because the ancient people that created these religions didn't have the knowledge we have today, you're essentially believing something that was made up more than a thousand years go... you think old people can't keep up with technology? Well religious people can't keep up with the evolution of the mind. This isn't to say that they are incapable of keeping up, it's just that hardly any religious or typical society person will give up a lifetime of lies for a day of truth. It kinda makes me sad, but feel special at the same time that I can be part of

I too find it distressing that we will never know much of the past beyond the mere few thousand years we have been taking notes, nor be around for the future and see how the whole thing plays out. Also that I will never be able to master the intricacies of every discipline, though I intend to know something about everything. Knowledge is fractal. I think that sums it up nicely. There is nothing you can know that you can't know more about.

I have quoted Feynman's "What I cannot create I do not understand" before, but I did not know the context, and the additional writing below it that you quoted. That guy has been my idol for a long time, talk about breadth! Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman is a must-read for anyone who at all relates to this post, it's not a physics book!

My recent favorite link for knowing everything: ocw.mit.edu Go to "advanced search" and then the "video and audio" link to the right. Several complete courses in many subjects, wish there were more!

Enjoy the journey,
Chris

I often complain that there's no end to the books I want to read and I just don't have the time. And then there are all the ones that I WILL want to read AFTER I've finished my current list because I know I will then understand what else I need to read. Increasing knowledge just makes you hungrier for more. The light of knowledge and understanding is quite possibly the most fulfilling (& pleasurable?) experience in the world. All new knowledge is exploration and discovery. One doesn't need to board a ship or a shuttle, to discover new worlds.