UniVerses

Symphony

Invisibly gas slides through the goo
where ribosomes quick thumb their RNA
and chatter while they ratchet down the queue
attaching peptides as they macrame.
The cytoplasmic nectar’s fraught with life
a syrup organized by protein strings
while whizzing  bees of energy are rife
these ATPs fuel nearly everything.
A giant tube, the mitochondrion
sucks air and sugar through its membrane forge
devouring both to steal their electrons
so activateed phosphates ‘t can disgorge.
While dipole threads of water dance around
the symphony of molecules resounds.

Life is a process, not an object. The discrete unit of life is a cell, which is an ensemble of a very large number of molecules, large and small, that coordinate to create a machine that, under most conditions, fends for itself and is able to replicate itself so its progeny sustain life on our planet.

We can analyze the separate components, figure out what each does, and loosely describe how the whole thing works.

As cells became more complex they adapted to take on specialized roles to create multicellular beings. 

Organisms exist though their components turnover. Individual molecules are constantly replaced, and most cells die and are switched out during the life of the organism.

Yet the being itself persists. It is not immortal, but, like cells, each organism has evolved a process for replicating itself, so the species survives the death of its members.

In time another supernatural force appeared from the collective interaction of parts. Multicellular organisms developed a collective intelligence that enables them to adapt to their environment. 

People are an organized colony of cells. Trillions of autonomous living cells that interact and coordinate. Yet no cell possesses intelligence, does it? How can these diverse and disparate cells create ideas or pass along history?

More complex animals have developed intelligence to pass on to their offspring, such as hunting skills, or history.

Sentience is yet another force that shapes the world, whose study is called noetics. Thought is not an object, but a process. It, too, has an existence that transcends its components.

If you have comments please contact us.