Simon Powell - The Psilocybin Solution

It would appear that the fundamental laws of physics represent the Universal Computation. These laws constitute a kind of essential software governing the ongoing computation of the Universe. There can be no denial of this, for the four fundamental laws of physics (gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces) reign supreme throughout the Universe and provide the bedrock upon which cosmological events unfold. However, these laws of physics—representing perhaps the ultimate contextual rubric—have generated new informational systems, like those of chemistry, genetics, biology, and the mind, which I outlined in the previous chapter and which I described as being informational systems in this chapter. These informational systems have themselves allowed new laws to emerge. This is also undeniable. Formal systems like genetics or the English language can in no way be totally reduced to physics. Nor can consciousness be reduced to physics. And yet physics and the fundamental laws that govern physics have somehow encouraged these subsequent systems to emerge.

Laws are essentially grammar-like because they govern the way information flows and integrates within different language-like informational systems. Thus, once new forms of information arise within the Universe, new laws emerge that control the relations between them; that is, new grammars come into existence. This is an important point to bear in mind when we talk of the laws of physics, for one might be suspicious that physical law alone is sufficient to cause, say, the evolution of life. It is rather that the laws of physics have allowed new laws to emerge once new forms of information have come into being. In this sense, the laws of physics are primary; they are the fundamental grammar, so to speak, or fundamental pattern that facilitates all else of interest. This is somewhat reminiscent of the fundamental role of the octave in music. The octave defines music since it holds all the major notes within it and specifies the vibrational relations between those notes. Once the fundamental octave system has been specified, then all music, all those compositions and melodies we love, can be generated out of that basic system. The same principle applies to chess, of course. Once the rules are created, then every chess game, whether a classic, an epic, or an embarrassment, can be generated from those basic rules.

We should also bear in mind that simple physical systems governed by simple laws can nonetheless generate novel behavior. Indeed, over the last few decades chaos theory has amply demonstrated the unpredictability and surprising behavior that certain seemingly simple physical systems can display. So even though the laws of physics may be understood, the long-term effects of those laws can be utterly novel. To suggest that the Universe is computational and controlled by software-like laws does not imply that the future is determined. Indeed, chaos theory teaches us that novelty and unpredictable surprise are an inherent feature of reality.

The laws of physics, such as they are, require an initial input state in which to manifest themselves. This initial state would appear to be the initial conditions at the time of the alleged big bang, conditions that many cosmologists have argued had to have been highly specific in order that the Universe evolve in the way it has. Here we face a deep mystery. Why that particular set of initial conditions, and why those laws of physics?

In many of his books, Paul Davies (whom I quoted earlier) concludes that the Universe appears to be a bit fishy. Davies refuses to accept that the laws of physics and the initial conditions just happen to have been that way. It appears too good to be true, especially as we are around to speculate upon it. Either one accepts these fundamental properties of Nature as being unexplainable “brute facts,” or one can try to account for them in some kind of metaphysical way.

As we are once more entering unusual territory, let’s quickly recap. We have been trying to understand reality as an ongoing computation in which all of the Universe’s information is being relentlessly processed via countless state transitions. This informational process has led to the (novel) formation of galaxies, stars, planets, life, Homo sapiens, consciousness, and subsequently conscious reflection on the nature of galaxies, stars, planets, life, and so on. The existence of such patterning is astonishing enough. But we have also concluded that these interesting and creative outputs are entirely dependent on the laws of Nature and the initial input conditions, and that these are special in some way, at least special in the sense that they have produced enduring forms of information like you and me.

If this line of reasoning already suggests the presence of a God of some kind, then it is because our vocabulary is severely limited when it comes to discussing these types of issue. This is a relatively new area of thought, for only in the last few decades have scientists begun to seriously contend with why things are the way they are, with why the Universe appears to be somewhat fishy. These are legitimate questions to ask, although they extend well beyond the limited scope of science.

I believe that since we are inextricably caught up in the unfolding Universe, wherever it might be leading, then it is surely in our interests to confront the situation head on. In fact, we should demand to be enlightened as to what is really going on here. As I have made clear, natural entheogens and their ability to foster transcendental forms of cognition are perhaps the greatest tools at hand for coming to terms with these questions about reality. Create the right sort of neurochemical alchemy, bring the right sort of natural ingredients into place, and information seems to conveniently orchestrate itself into revelatory patterns of understanding. This is the method, perhaps, whereby Nature resolves an understanding of itself through the vehicle of consciousness.

However, before we go on to form a conclusion from our informational view of things, it will be useful here to show in more detail how the computational processing of information according to a few very basic rules can nonetheless yield organized forms and structures. In particular I would like to welcome to this chapter the extraordinary world of the cellular automaton. This is not as dull as it sounds, and since such a system is very simple to grasp, it lends itself well to our computational/informational paradigm.

A cellular automaton is a classic computational-cum-informational system able to yield lifelike phenomena, and it is therefore a model that captures, at least in part, Nature’s life-making capacity. Oddly enough, the study of these systems has its roots in a novel Mexican mushroom, only this time the mushroom in question is the malignant mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb.

The atomic bomb was created in the army laboratories of Los Alamos in New Mexico as part of America’s Manhattan Project. In fact, it was in response to the cautionary word of Einstein himself that the USA originally attempted to crack the atom for weaponry purposes. In 1939, Einstein, who was then seeking asylum in the USA, wrote to President Roosevelt concerning Germany’s widespread and zealous search for uranium. It was painfully clear to Einstein that the implications of his E=MC² equation were being followed through to their ultimately explosive end and that the USA would do well to keep abreast of this disturbing development. On the strength of Einstein’s warning, American authorities galvanized themselves into developing an atomic bomb before Germany managed it, and thus the Manhattan Project was born.

After the end of World War II, the Manhattan Project built a prototypical electronic computer system called ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer). This was the first operational, general-purpose, electronic digital computer, and it was initially used to solve various ballistic calculations. The success of this “giant brain,” as the press called it, stimulated the development of other computing machines and helped pave the way for the modern computer industry.