From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Wed Feb 03 1999 - 05:44:52 MST
"joe dees" <joedees@bellsouth.net> writes:
> >Why would animals die, then?
> >
> Birth can only coexist with death in a world of finite room and
>resources populated by spacetime occupying and matter/energy consuming
>lifeforms.
Actually, death is a natural result of existing as metastable systems
in a world with thermal fluctuations; sooner or later a large
fluctuation is going to destabilize any system. Of course, this time
might be extremely long, it is only relevant to show that death is
deducible from our kind of physics.
Note that there is no a priori reason why all available matter/energy
flows couldn't be converted into immortal static lifeforms (modulo a
slight turnover due to thermal fluctuations as above; it can be made
as small as desired). However, this state is unlikely due to another
aspect of thermodynamics, namely the increase of entropy. The universe
moves from less probable states towards more probable.
However, the third law of thermodynamics is also the reason we have
evolved: evolution *demands* some form of selection, and if entropy
didn't increase individuals and species could always un-die and
evolution would be impossible. Complex systems can only appear
randomly (i.e. extremely rarely) in a reversible world, while in an
irreversible world they can flourish.
Note that this doesn't mean "death is good", is just means that
without selection processes we can't have evolution. Intelligent
beings can improve themselves without dying, by letting "their
thoughts die in their stead" - still selection, but this time among
information patterns.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
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