Philosophy of Imagination*Six

I am not a scientist, obviously, so if I get facts wrong or whatever, I apologize. I am a curious person and writing about things I don't quite understand (which is Philosophy) so I can study and learn and eventually know the subject better. I don't want to go too deep into evolution, it's dense and I only know the basics. We'll use basics. Evolution is survival of the fittest. The animal, human, insect and plant (and their offspring) will live on if they have the characteristics that make their survival more certain in the ecosystem in which they live. A stronger, longer tail will make a monkey better at holding on and they're less apt to fall out of the tree and die. But if a monkey lived where there were no trees, the monkey with the strongest and fastest legs would survive and the monkeys with the long tails will get eaten, because it's easier for a tiger to munch down on that long tail. So the monkeys who live in trees will get stronger and longer tails as millions of years go by and the plains monkeys will get faster legs and shorter tails as millions of years go by. 

But cyanobacteria is only one cell. It doesn't have differing traits from the rest of the cyanobacteria. How did one unicellular life turn into multicellular? Scientists still don't know for sure, but their thought was some kind of mutation? An abnormality that made that cell better than the rest. More Imagination in that cell? Perhaps. Maybe they were mutating all the time and it took a long time before one of them stumbled on to the right mutation? The other theory is that cells began working in groups, helping each other to achieve something greater than the self. That's awesome! Even on the cellular level, we need others and cells are willing to help out, even if they get nothing in return. The cyanobacteria, the first life, showed up 3.5 billion years ago. More complex multicellular organisms didn't appear until 600 million years ago. That's like 3 billion years the cyanobacteria was all alone, pumping out oxygen, creating our atmosphere, trying to Imagine how to be better, how to make the World around them great. 3 billion years! That is a patient motherfucker. Motivated. No giveup. 

The cyanobacteria mutated and branched off in millions of ways. It is the father of bacteria and viruses and all other unicellular organism in the World, but once it became multicellular, it never regressed back to unicellular. That's fascinating, because once it made some progress after 3 billion years, it didn't kick its feet up too long. It Imagined being three cells, then four, then five, always optimistic that a better future lie ahead. A future that would eventually allow the offspring of the cyanobacteria to understand and enjoy the Universe in which it lived. If that ain't Imagination, I don't know what is.

There is no laziness in nature. It is always trying to grow and procreate and climb upward.

Philosophy of Imagination*Five

When last we spoke, we were talking about cyanobacteria (pictured above -- beautiful yeah?). The first single-celled organism. Life! How did it become an organism? How did it decide to change? How did it change? Why did it change? To survive? It was the only organism, so it didn't have any predators. The elements. The atmosphere and liquids and solids that also existed. It asked the question, in some abstract way, 'how do I make this Earth a better place?' What made that happen? Pure chemistry? Imagination? Can Imagination exist outside of an organism? I think yes. It could be a particle we haven't discovered yet? Could it be gravity? Perhaps. Dark matter? Perhaps. Something makes cells and living things change, so they can go on living and make the World a better place.

Why not Imagination? 

Philosophy of Imagination *Four

A few posts ago, before a tangent took over, I was discussing the origins of Imagination. All the way to the beginning of time -- or maybe to the beginning of life. That scope is easier to hold and look at. Especially because time is relative and obscure and may not exist at all (but that's an entirely different discussion).

We start at the beginning of life on Earth. That we can get our arms around. We have a lot of data and science of life on Earth, hard facts and truths. Give it up for scientists, the unsung heroes of our Universe! Them and teachers. Slaving away to make our World a better place and not asking for acclaim or notoriety beyond the science magazines and 'Teacher of the Month' awards. 

Life on Earth started with a single-celled organism called 'Cyanobacteria'. You get capitalized if you're the first living thing on Earth. Well done! Thanks for figuring it out so I can be here now, typing this thought. It is an aquatic and photosynthetic. It lives in water and makes its own food. It's growth and proliferation is what created our atmosphere. The oxygen we breathe is a byproduct of the photosynthesis of this blue-green algae, floating on top of the Earth's water. We have fossils of Cyanobacteria and they date to roughly 3.5 billion years ago.

The beginning of life on Earth. Cyanobacteria. It created an atmosphere that would allow it to evolve into everything else. That's fucking awesome! If its byproduct from food production had been helium, who knows what the hell our Earth would look like?

Cyanobacteria did not have a consciousness or feelings or Imagination yet, at least I don't believe it did. All this was further down the evolutionary road. It did have one important directive -- multiply -- multiply as much as possible so you will live on. So a part of you will always be here on Earth and in this Universe. 

That's crazy that a single-celled bacteria wants to be remembered. That is why life goes on. We all feel that very strongly. It is what motivates us every day to get out of bed. To be remembered and revered. To stay on Earth forever. We want to survive and procreate (most of us anyhow) so we will never be forgotten. 

Maybe the Cyanobacteria did have an Imagination? It was just waiting for a chance to grow. It needed legs to further explore its Imagination, to understand what it was capable of. Are we here because Cyanobacteria had Imagination and fortitude to be remembered forever? Is it okay to be remembered as a group? As People? As Human Beings? Is that enough? I don't think so. And I think most living beings would agree with me. But no one will be remembered forever and that's okay, because the matter and particles we're made of will be around into the infinite. And if we live a good, happy life, all that matter and particles that make up us, will live on to infinity, spreading that goodness and happiness that you created. Do matter/particles have thought and memory? I believe they do.

We should build statues to Cyanobacteria in every city on this Earth! None of us would be here without it! Cyanobacteria forever!