Theoretical origin of life: a complex computation? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 19:32 (70 days ago) @ David Turell

From developing information:

https://aeon.co/essays/is-life-a-complex-computational-process?utm_source=Aeon+Newslett...

"Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process

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"Today, ‘adaptive function’ is the primary criterion for identifying the right kinds of biotic chemistry that give rise to life, as the theoretical biologist Michael Lachmann ... likes to point out. In the sciences, adaptive function refers to an organism’s capacity to biologically change, evolve or, put another way, solve problems.

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"...genetic evolution also involves problem-solving. Insect wings solve the ‘problem’ of flight. Optical lenses that focus light solve the ‘problem’ of vision. And the kidneys solve the ‘problem’ of filtering blood. This kind of biological problem-solving – an outcome of natural selection and genetic drift – is conventionally called ‘adaptation’. Though it is crucial to the evolution of life, new research suggests it may also be crucial to the origins of life.

"This problem-solving perspective is radically altering our knowledge of the Universe. Life is starting to look a lot less like an outcome of chemistry and physics, and more like a computational process.

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"Both computation and life involve a minimal set of algorithms that support adaptive function. These ‘algorithms’ help materials process information ... And so, as some research suggests, a search for life and a search for computation may not be so different. In both cases, we can be side-tracked if we focus on materials, on chemistry, physical environments and conditions.

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"What drives these ideas, developed over the past 60 years by researchers working in disparate disciplines – including physics, computer science, astrobiology, synthetic biology, evolutionary science, neuroscience and philosophy – is a search for the fundamental principles that drive problem-solving matter.

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"In 2013, the physicist David Deutsch published a paper on what he called ‘constructor theory’. This theory proposed a new way of approaching physics in which computation was foundational to the Universe, at a deeper level than the laws of quantum physics or general relativity.

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"Constructor theory, and other similar ideas, may be necessary for understanding the deeper origins of life, which conventional physics and chemistry have failed to adequately explain.

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"In fact, all successful efforts to date in synthetic biology derive from augmentation, not creation. (my bold)

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"These ideas suggest that the emergence of complex computational systems (ie, life) in the Universe may be governed by deeper principles than we previously assumed. Organisms may have a more general objective than adaptation. What if life-forms arise not from a series of adaptive accidents, such as mutation and selection, but by attempting to solve a problem? ... So, what is this shared problem? The Maupertuis hypothesis suggests that, building on the second law of thermodynamics, life might be the Universe’s way of reaching thermodynamic equilibrium more quickly. It might be how the Universe ‘solves’ the problem of processing energy more effectively.

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"For example, evolution by natural selection is a process in which repeated rounds of survival cause dominant genotypes to encode more and more information about their environment. ... a population of evolving organisms behaves like a sampling process, with each generation selecting from the possible range of genetic variants. Over many generations, the population can update its collective ‘knowledge’ of the world through repeated rounds of differential survival (or ‘natural selection’). (my bold)

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"According to the information theory of individuality, individuals can be built from different chemical foundations. What matters is that life is defined by adaptive information.
(my bold)

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"Is life problem-solving matter? When thinking about our biotic origins, it is important to remember that most chemical reactions are not connected to life, whether they take place here or elsewhere in the Universe. Chemistry alone is not enough to identify life. Instead, researchers use adaptive function – a capacity for solving problems – as the primary evidence and filter for identifying the right kinds of biotic chemistry.

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"...the physics and chemistry that gave rise to life appear to have been doing more than simply obeying the fundamental laws. At some point in the Universe’s history, matter became purposeful. It became organised in a way that allowed it to adapt to its immediate environment.

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"For living organisms, however, the rules of life can be modified or ‘programmed’ to solve unique biological problems ... This shift from one to the other marks the moment when matter became defined by computation and problem-solving. Certainly, specialised chemistry was required for this transition, but the fundamental revolution was not in matter but in logic."

Comment: I view this as the anything but God/mind approach. Obviously a designing mind is necessary to explain life's origin. Note my bolds showing the need for information handling. Life builds a library of necessary information which it uses.