On its face, such a statement seems ridiculous. After all, even within our rather tiny corner here on Earth, that there is a huge amount of complexity appears to be self-evident. There are stark differences between regions on this planet in terms of climate, wildlife, and human ethnic and cultural diversity, to name just a few things. And our planet is a nearly infinitesimal fraction of the broader cosmos, within which there are planets with seas of liquid methane, giant gaseous planets without surfaces, billions of stars ranging up to millions of miles in diameter, pulsars, comets, black holes, and innumerable other phenomena that fascinate human beings.
Nevertheless, the rules that govern the universe are the same no matter where you go. Such a position is a guiding principle of modern science. The surface appearance of a heterogenous, complex, designed universe may convince us of a fiction. It is misleading on a grand scale.
A few examples of the common structure of the Universe are as follows:
1) Gravity. The force of gravity is entirely predictable from a tiny number of variables. You need only know the masses of the two objects in question (say, the Earth and its moon) and the distance between them. So far as we can tell, these values will tell you the force of gravity between objects everywhere in the Universe. We flew to the moon and back with this information.
2) The chemical elements. The enormous complexity of the broader cosmos, all of its visible mass, is composed of a mere few dozen types of chemical elements. Your mass is almost entirely (i.e., ~99%) made up of only six elements: Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, calcium, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Think about that: You're basically six things. The apparent complexity of the human body arises from arranging these elements (as well as a few other trace elements) in different combinations and in different structures.
3) Life on Earth. Life is staggeringly, awe-inspiringly complex. Millions and millions of species, all colonizing this aqueous, tranquil planet, and all being remarkably adapted to their circumstances. Anyone who has not experienced a sense of wonder in contemplation of the natural world needs to get out more. Flatworms, cockroaches, parakeets, squirrels, walruses, and orcas... and that's just from the animal kingdom. For all the apparent differences between species, Darwin's great idea was that they have a shared history. The species were not created separately from one another, but instead are each products of evolution driven by the simple and undirected process of natural selection. The existence of life without natural selection is difficult to imagine, no matter what life-harboring planet you may be on.
This is just a smattering of examples. There are many more that demonstrate the commonality and simplicity of the cosmos, some of which I may touch on at a later date.
This blog is primarily concerned with the topic of the behavior of organisms, a field typically considered the purview of psychologists. Though humans have been interested in behavior since humans came to be, the scientific examination of the topic has lagged far behind its sister disciplines of physics, chemistry, and biology. The science of psychology is very young, and many of its practitioners have made (and continue to make) unfortunate errors in understanding behavior. A common mistake has been the assumption that we are somehow special, that simple and wide-ranging rules somehow do not apply to us. This assumption is damaging, but is often rather subtle, which is a potential reason for its stubborn persistence.
In this blog, I will discuss matters of philosophy, politics, religion, science, and anything else I consider relevant to understanding behavior - which, frankly, is a list without limit. Anything that animals do is relevant in a conversation about the science of behavior, and we are animals.
No comments:
Post a Comment