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03/09/2004: "The Meaning of Life"

I originally produced the following for Eric Olsen of the now defunct Tres Producers in response to a Feb. 7, 2002 post by Natalie Solent.

I put this up so I can have a post today. I don't think it's poorly written, so much, but I don't think it's all that well written either. It just seems ... dense. And it does drive at the core of my thinking, and thus does helps to introduce me to the gentle reader. So, here it is....

We perceive: reality exists, deal with it, move on.
When we choose, we can note that we are part of a larger universe. It is our task to determine our part in the larger whole, how the larger whole works, and how we can alter our surroundings to our benefit.

Reality exists: four categories of objects.
When we perceive, we can note that objects in the larger universe fall into four categories. Simple objects are physical in nature. Living objects channel energy. Thinking objects change habits to better channel energy. Balancing objects balance time between living and thinking to maximize quality of life.

Simple Objects: thoughtless existence.
All mass is subject to forces such as electricity and gravity. These forces are thoughtless; lightning strikes don't kill people because they are cruel and vindictive; lightning strikes don't have the ability to care. Likewise, flash floods don't care that they destroy homes. Instead, one can predict what simple objects will do by studying inherent energies; people that know how much electrical charge clouds have can predict lightning; people that know about snowpacks and coming temperatures can predict flash floods.

Living Objects: scouring for energy.
Some massive objects, plants and animals, are specially organized to seek out and capture sources of energy. Plants capture sunlight and transfer the captured energy into such things as growth. Some animals, herbivores, eat plants and channel that energy into (among other things) stronger muscles. Other animals, carnivores, catch, kill, and eat other animals for their energy. At the microscopic level, plants and animals live a thoughtless existence. In the broader context, biology explains plants and animals better than physics does.

Thinking animals: changing habits.
Some living objects examine their universe and change habits. People and animals both have had the habits of picking wild berries for sustenance. Some people thought, though, and decided to cultivate and protect their crops; others process the harvest. These changing habits make people better able to enjoy fruity goodness.

Balancing objects: living the good life.
Balancing objects spend just enough time living and just enough time thinking. As a living object, a balancing object seeks to obtain food with the same unchanging paradigm. As a thinking object, a balancing object seeks to obtain new sources of food. One needs to do both. One obviously cannot do without actual food. Nor should one always rely on the same sources of food; such sources may disappear; moreso, living by rote is boring. Balancing objects maximize the quality of life by not overthinking or underthinking.

Bottom line: the meaning of life.
The meaning of life is that we must find balance. Live for today (be a living object) with an eye on tomorrow (be a thinking object). The first theorem: seek knowledge (proof: we want pleasant surroundings; we can affect our surroundings with well executed well conceived plans; good execution and good conception both require knowledge). An application of the first theorem: be kind to critics; good critics give us knowledge that we need to change the habits most in need of change.

Or perhaps I am saying that there is no meaning of life, per se. At some level, I don't really care, I have better things to do. But I begin to repeat myself.