How can something as complicated as ourselves happen by chance? One answer: Order comes naturally from chaos over time in a universe where order is rewarded on small scales by local forces such as atomic attraction. Here are twenty-five theories of how humans came to be:
1. Theistic Creationism: The belief that a divine being or beings created humans.
2. Intelligent Design: The theory that humans were intentionally designed by an intelligent agent, not necessarily divine.
3. Evolution by Natural Selection: Charles Darwin’s theory that humans evolved from earlier species through the process of natural selection.
4. Panspermia: The idea that life on Earth originated from microorganisms or organic compounds brought by comets or asteroids.
5. Ancient Aliens: Some speculate that humans were created or influenced by extraterrestrial beings.
6. Genetic Engineering: The possibility that humans were genetically modified by an advanced civilization or ancient humans.
7. Simulation Hypothesis: The proposition that humans are living in a computer simulation created by an advanced civilization.
8. Abiogenesis: The concept that life originated from non-living matter through natural processes, the prime mover of evolution which created humans, eventually.
9. Convergent Evolution: Humans evolved independently from a different ancestor, but through similar traits and adaptations ended up resembling other intelligent species.
10. Divine Intervention: Multiple instances of divine intervention throughout history led to the existence of humans.
11. Hybridization: Humans are the result of hybridization between different species, perhaps through interbreeding between different hominin species.
12. Directed Panspermia: Humans were intentionally seeded on Earth by an intelligent alien civilization.
13. Spontaneous Generation: Life, including humans, spontaneously emerged from inanimate matter without the need for any external influence.
14. Parallel Evolution: Humans evolved elsewhere in the universe, perhaps even on Mars, and migrated to Earth, independently developing similar traits.
15. Convergent Creationism: Multiple divine beings or pantheons independently created humans in different parts of the world.
16. Quantum Evolution: Quantum fluctuations in the early universe resulted in the formation of humans.
17. Symbiogenesis: Humans are the result of symbiotic relationships between different organisms, with different genomes coming together to form a new species.
18. Extraterrestrial Genetic Manipulation: Alien beings genetically manipulated early humans to enhance their intelligence or abilities.
19. Transdimensional Immigrants: Humans originated from a different dimension or reality and crossed over into our universe.
20. Multiverse Evolution: Humans are the result of evolutionary processes occurring in different parallel universes.
21. Time Loops: Humans exist in a time loop or time travel paradox, where their existence constantly loops back and repeats.
22. Reincarnation: Humans have lived in different forms and species in past lives and have gradually evolved into their current state.
23. Spiritual Evolution: Humans emerged through a spiritual process of evolution, where consciousness gradually evolved and took physical form.
24. Cosmic Consciousness: Humans are an expression of a broader universal consciousness, and their existence is an inherent aspect of the universe.
25. Unknown Origin: The true origin of humans is yet unknown and may require future scientific advancements or discoveries to uncover.
A computer simulation found that some mutations which are harmful in the short run sometimes will boost long-term potential. The researchers using digital organisms found that this is the only way organisms can evolve.
“Calculations imply [that] the probability of the digital organisms getting that complex all at once is astronomically small,” Lenski said. …”Biologists usually assumed that the evolution of new mutations is an uphill climb — one in which the winners are descended from the most fit organisms in earlier generations, rather like a mountaineer that is always moving up — or at least sideways.”
The eventual winner came from those in which some had mutations that were harmful in the short run, because taking two steps back sometimes provided a better route.
“Some of these harmful mutations worked well in combination with other mutations that came later,” said Lenski. So while most deleterious mutations were eliminated, some were passed on, turning a short-term handicap into a long-term advantage as the subsequent evolution unfolded, he said. – {TrnMag}
This explains why we have all kinds of features which are not all that intelligent and are sometimes harmful.
This also makes it highly likely that previous human species were more advanced in some ways that we are today. For example, some may have had perfect memory. Others, amazing strength. Some may have been able to turn sugar into vitamin C. In the future we may have samples of DNA from past other human species we can use in hacking our biology.
The fairly new science of self-organizing systems has in part answered how complexity and order arises from chaos. It is the small local rules, for example, charges which cause atoms to partially attract or repel, which eventually lead to large scale complexity. Once you have sufficient complexity along with random change, feedback loops emerge.
Complex systems with feedback loops that allow for self-renewal are called autopoietic structures. One example of a simple, self-organizing system is a whirlpool. Another example is the red spot on the planet Jupiter.
Simple autopoietic structures interact with new rules and eventually become more successful at reproducing, and thus, you get…
Other systems, such as the human body, can be extremely complex (Briggs and Peat, 1989). – Read More About Feedback Loops
How we are here is a fascinating topic that everyone should explore in as much depth as possible.
