Expert: Jayendra Upadhye - 1/7/2005

Question
Dear Jayendra!

Can we view the universe as an super organism (explain)?

Sincerely,
Max.


Answer
Hi,
I wouldnt know about the universe, but there is a theory that is current for quite some decades now, that says the earth behaves like a self correcting organism, and the "entity" representing it is called "gaia".
The theory is "Gaia" theory.
Asimov in one of his (was it foundation's edge?) novels actually had this Gaia as a super intelligent creature that actually controls the minds of its creatures! (and by inference the hero!).

Arthur clark's "encounter with rama" also had such an intelligence encapsulated in a gigantic artificial world with "synthetic creatures" living in it.

The Hindus ofcourse had already assigned BHUMI as the goddess earth. The malaysian word "Bhumi-putra"s LITERALLY means sons of the soil (or sons of the earth / bhumi) an euphemism for "aboriginal" or "native" malays. That's to differentiate them from the "foreign" Indian and chinese forming the significant and dynamic percentage of non malay population.

Interestingly the indians call MARS as BHAUMA or "Of the bhumi, the earth" !

We do know the oceans are a vast co2 sink regulated by temperature, that absorb hugfe quantities of the gas and lock it away as carbonates on the sea bed. Volcanism processes these into the igneous "marble"s and CO2 that is vented back to the atmosphere.

The coming and going of the ice ages may be a regulating mechanism, and so also the mighty weather systems we are just learning about.

We know just a small fraction of all that is to know, so who knows? One may in the end end, end up saying "hey! We are but 'gods' creatures!", discovering in the process, an endless hierarchy of 'gods' each subservient to the other and harmoniously governing the cosmos!

And that in the scheme of things, we ourselves are gods in turn to lesser creatures!
Jayen.