You have already met similar analogies: atoms resemble solar systems, large-scale structures of the universe are similar to neurons in the human brain, and there are also curious coincidences: the number of stars in a galaxy, galaxies in the universe, atoms in a cell and cells in a living being is approximately the same (from 10 ^ 11 to 10 ^ 14). The next question is, as Mike Paul Hughes also put it:
Are we just brain cells of a larger planetary creature that is not yet self-aware? How can we find out? How can we test this?
Believe it or not, the idea that the total sum of everything in the universe is an intelligent creature has been around for a very long time and is part of the concept of the Marvel Universe and the ultimate being - Eternity.
It is difficult to give a direct answer to this kind of question, because we are not 100% sure of what consciousness and self-awareness really mean.
But we have confidence in a small number of physical things that can help us find the best possible answer to this question, including answers to the following questions:
- How old is the universe?
- How long do different objects have to send signals to each other and receive signals from each other?
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- How large are the largest structures connected by gravity?
- And how many signals connected and unconnected structures of various sizes will have to have in order to exchange information of any kind with each other?
If we carry out this kind of calculations and then compare them with the data that arise even in the simplest structures similar to the brain, then we can at least be able to give the closest possible answer to the question of whether there exist where - or there are large cosmic structures in the universe, endowed with intelligent abilities.
The universe since the Big Bang has existed for about 13.8 billion years, and since that time it has been expanding at a very fast (but decreasing) rate, and it consists of about 68% of dark energy, 27% of dark matter, 4.9% from normal matter, by 0.1% from neutrinos and by about 0.01% from photons (The given percentage was different earlier - at the moment when matter and radiation were more significant).
Since light always travels at the speed of light - through an expanding universe - we are in a position to determine how many different communications have been made between two objects captured by this expansion process.
If we define "communication" as the amount of time it takes to send and receive information in one direction, then this is the path that we can cover in 13.8 billion years:
- 1 communication: up to 46 billion light years, the entire observable universe;
- 10 communications: up to 2 billion light years or about 0.001% of the universe; the next 10 million galaxies.
- 100 communications: nearly 300 million light years or less than the Coma Cluster, which contains approximately 100,000 galaxies.
- 1000 communications: 44 million light years, near the edge of the Virgo cluster, containing approximately 400 galaxies.
- 100 thousand communications: 138 thousand light years, or almost the entire length of the Milky Way, but not beyond its limits.
- 1 billion communications - 14 light years, or just the next 35 (or so) stars and brown dwarfs; this rate changes as the stars move within the galaxy.
Our local group has gravitational connections - it consists of us, Andromeda, the Triangulum galaxy and possibly 50 other, much smaller dwarfs, and ultimately all together they will form a single connected structure several hundreds of thousands of light years (This will more or less depend on the magnitude of the associated structure).
Most of the groups and clusters will have the same fate in the future: all the connected galaxies inside them will together form a single, giant structure several hundred thousand light years across, and this structure will exist for about 110 ^ 15 years.
At the moment when the age of the universe will be 100 thousand times its current rate, the last stars will use up their fuel and plunge into darkness, and only very rare flares and collisions will cause synthesis again, and this will continue as long as the objects themselves will not begin to separate gravitationally - in the time frame from 10 ^ 17 to 10 ^ 22 years.
However, these separate large groups will move away from each other with increasing speed, and therefore they will not have the opportunity to meet or establish communication with each other for a long period of time. If we, for example, sent a signal today from our place at the speed of light, then we could reach only 3% of the galaxies in the currently observed universe, and the rest is already beyond our reach.
Therefore, individual connected groups or clusters are all we can hope for, and the smallest, like us - and most of them - contain about one trillion (10 ^ 12) stars, while the largest (as in the future Coma Cluster) contain about 10 ^ 15 stars.
But if we want to discover self-awareness, then the best option would be to compare with the human brain, which has about 100 billion (10 ^ 11) neurons and at least 100 trillion (10 ^ 14) neural connections, whereas each neuron flashes about 200 once a second. If we proceed from the fact that a human life, on average, lasts somewhere 2-3 billion seconds, then a lot of signals are obtained for the entire period!
It would take a network of trillions of stars within a volume of a million light years over 10 ^ 15 years just to get something comparable to the number of neurons, neural connections, and the amount of transmitted signals in the human brain. In other words, these cumulative numbers - for the human brain and for large, fully formed finite galaxies - are, in fact, comparable to each other.
However, the essential difference is that the neurons inside the brain have connected and defined structures, while the stars inside the connected galaxies or groups move rapidly, either moving towards each other or moving away from each other, which occurs under the influence of all other stars and masses inside galaxies.
We believe that such a method of random selection of sources and orientations does not make it possible to form any stable signal structures; however, this may or may not be necessary. Based on our knowledge of how consciousness arises (in particular in the brain), I believe that there is simply not enough coordinated information moving between different formations in order for this to become possible.
At the same time, the total number of signals that can participate in exchanges at the galactic level during the period of the existence of stars is attractive and interesting, and it indicates the presence of a potential relative to the number of information exchanges held by another thing about which we know that she has self-awareness.
However, it is important to note the following: even if that were enough, our galaxy would be equivalent to a newborn baby born just 6 hours ago - not too big a result. As for the larger consciousness, it has not yet appeared.
Moreover, we can say that the concept of "eternity", which includes all the stars and galaxies in the universe, is undoubtedly too large, given the existence of dark energy and what we know about the fate of our universe.
Unfortunately, the only way to test this is either through modeling (this option has its own internal flaws), or sitting, waiting and watching what happens. Until a larger mind sends us an obvious “reasonable” signal, we will have only the Count of Monte Cristo's choice: wait and hope.