Homeostasis and Complexity

Biomolecules such as RNA,DNA,amino acids etc, arose in a sea of interacting molecules in a  primordial soup. This was followed by compartmentalization to separate out the biomolecules from their environment. This resulted in homeostasis i.e. regulated exchange of matter between systems and surroundings.

According to wikipedia- "In biology, homeostasis is the state of steady internal physical and chemical conditions maintained by living systems.^[1] This dynamic state of equilibrium is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and includes many variables, such as body temperature and fluid balance, being kept within certain pre-set limits (homeostatic range). Other variables include the pH of extracellular fluid, the concentrations of sodium, potassium and calcium ions, as well as that of the blood sugar level, and these need to be regulated despite changes in the environment, diet, or level of activity."

Why did complexity arise then ? To provide more and more regulation for a system in varying environments. This complexity , arose perhaps through phase transition.

Homeostasis regulation may be compared to an analog knob with different possible states of being.
With a fluctuating environment, this knob has to be regulated and complexity is the hand that regulates the knob by fine-tuning to the environment.

Breakdown of regulated complexity , results in breakdown of homeostasis as in diseases like cancer. In cancer regulated multicellular organization breaks down due to mutations in genes and perturbations in environment. How do mutations  in genes occur ? Probably , mutations occur denovo and get selected for survival. But why so ? Its a mystery. The cancer seems to survive at the expense of the host.
Alternatively, environmental pertubations can cause mutations to occur in DNA resulting in higher risk for cancer.
https://www.pnas.org/content/99/25/15904

Increase in complexity results in highly evolved nervous systems. Probably these nervous systems evolved to regulate homeostasis. After a period of meditation (concentrated focus on a sound or words) I feel at calm and more relaxed. Probably meditation, by concentrating the mind, results in slowing the body metabolism resulting in greater regulation of homeostasis i.e. greater calm , lesser disturbed feelings.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25620166

Post meditation, one tends to observe things and processes through the lens of a calm , non-agitated mind.

Regulation and maintenance of homeostasis seems to me , one of the biggest drivers of evolution.

Homeostasis

Yesterday I heard Dr.  Damasio on the mindscape podcast hosted by Prof. Sean Carroll.
https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2019/04/29/episode-44-antonio-damasio-on-feelings-thoughts-and-the-evolution-of-humanity/

 It was a fascinating, insightful conversation.

The observation that "feelings" drive culture was new to me. From experience, I can say that feelings, along with thought do drive my choices.

Affect i.e. emotions and feelings play an important role in shaping societies. The hypothesis drawn  is that , homeostasis is a necessary pre-requisite to maintaining life , and homeostatic mechanisms result in feelings as adaptations to the environment.

Nervous systems could have evolved to regulate homeostasis. This is a strong argument from the evolutionary biology point of view, because the questions being asked today are-what are the environmental selection pressures that drive evolution.

Exchange of substances occur between the living organism and the environment to maintain homeostasis. Regulation of this process resulted in the evolution of nervous systems.

The conversation with Dr. Damasio compels me to read his book-"The Strange Order of Things".

Expansive mindset

Limited thinking resulting in human centeredness could be an anthropocentric bias.

The only way out is to expand your horizon , by exposure to the unfamiliar.

Exposure to and exploration of unfamiliar environments, literature, art,  technologies, sport activities help in developing an expansive mindset.

An introspective, meditative mindset helps focus and channelize the distracted energy in the desired direction.

Irreversibility

Irreversibility-Does it arise due to emergence of properties via phase transition ? Is it a numbers game ?

Ref:
https://www.quantamagazine.org/emergence-how-complex-wholes-emerge-from-simple-parts-20181220/ 

Finding Balance-Personalized Precision medicine

Homeostasis maintenance is a fine line between order and chaos. One needs sufficient amount of order to perform a function in a focused manner. Simultaneously chaos is required for robustness , i.e. fine tuning inorder to adjust to the changing environment.
Personalized Precision  medicine is about finding this balance.
When homeostasis is disturbed in a living system, one has to diagnose the degree of disorder/chaos and concommitantly administer a drug at the required dosage and time intervals to restore the "balance" between order and disorder.
Swinging the pendulum in favour of order or disorder does not favour "life". Life is a fine balance between order and disorder.
AI or artificial intelligence in medicine can be used as a tool to swing the pendulum to either side, so it has to be used carefully.
A tool is not good or bad in itself . Its how one uses it.
In the nervous system it is the combined synchronous and asynchronous firing of neurons that results in robust brain activity.
Nature is showing us-"Balance is the way"

Refs:
1.https://aeon.co/essays/the-music-of-all-time-is-a-duet-between-order-and-disorder
2. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/ai-versus-md
3.https://www.quantamagazine.org/physicists-discover-exotic-patterns-of-synchronization-20190404/

Questions

Looped fields=Strings ??
Dimensions = Fields ??
Strings form Knots/Particles-??
Particles interact resulting in matter from phase transition-??

Consciousnes-spacetime

Underlying Self=unifying field/beyond space time-(Pure Consciousness), potentially  codes for vibrations of strings giving rise to space/2D (packets of energy)/information of energy patterns in binary in fields---> Strings Vibrate in patterns of binary in fields giving rise to geometry in 3D/space( Underlying Mind in 3D/No time or no cause,effect i.e. Consciousness)--->Resonance of newer strings--->Interactions between resonant/non-resonant strings---> Knots form giving rise to  particles (physics) that  interact  ---->Phase Transition from interacting particles---->Matter arises---->Constant/Background Material Brain Activity ---->Observation/Perception in time----->Phenomenal mind/mental activity in time(3D+1D=4D)/Emergent Consciousness.

Refs:
Strings, knots, particles-file:///C:/Users/Dell/Downloads/symmetry-04-00039-v3.pdf
Phase Transition-https://www.quantamagazine.org/emergence-how-complex-wholes-emerge-from-simple-parts-20181220/


Vedanta psychology of Koshas (Layers/sheaths from inner to outer)=Self/Pure Consciousness at the individual level=Atman, Anandamaya kosha (Bliss body)= Evolute of pure consciousness consisting of bliss vibratory energy,Vigyanmaya kosha (Intellect body)=Buddhi/intellect body/Underlying mind/Consciousness, Manomayakosha=Phenomenal mind/Emergent consciousness

Refs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosha

Meditation through focusing attention or directing attentional energy inwards dissolves the outer sheaths which are evolutes via phase transition of the self/pure consciousness that make projections of the world which result in perceptual  reality. According to vigyana vedanta, after self realization one has altered perception of the external world, as one experiences the world through the illumination  provided by the non-vibratory self and not through the vibrations of the intellect/phenomenal mind.

The Upanishadic statement-"Tat Tvam Asi"-"That Thou Art" is the result of the above.

Comment

Very interesting and Thank You for allowing to comment. I think the human sensory system and the machines it designs for observation are classical in one way and detect what they are designed to detect. Detection is interaction. And as RPFeynman put it "All mass/matter is interaction. So whatever interacts is detectable. If anything is beyond the detection system/ detection limit it ceases to exist for the detector. So one has to guess. My guess is possibilities and probabilities are infinite and the human sensory system and machines designed by it are observing a sliver of reality. May be Artificial intelligence linked to a probe/sensor with alternate/all possible arrangements of atom can detect different dimensions/many worlds. I think with present technology we are missing the woods for the trees. Consciousness or mind emerging from the brain (a certain arrangement of atoms) which directly observes or designs instruments for observation is only one method of detection.

Anthropocentric bias

Thinking in hierarchies is an anthropocentric bias.

Anthropocentrism-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocentrism

 This thinking is in contrast to "integrative /systems thinking" which is inclusive, sees the whole instead of diving into parts and arranging in a hierarchy.

Anthropomorphism-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Apes have it all-http://nautil.us/issue/70/variables/empathy-morality-community-cultureapes-have-it-all

Anthropomorphism as  cognitive bias-https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/694039?journalCode=phos