8
1 Morphogenetic Universe
accustomed to the idea that macroscopic phenomena should involve a very large
number of atoms, since otherwise their ordered structure would be destroyed by
random fluctuations. It was already established at the time that genetic traits should
be coded by no more than hundreds to thousands of atoms, a minuscule number. In
order to keep such a structure intact, strong bonding is needed, and covalent chemical bonds, already understood at the time in the framework of quantum mechanics,
were the only way to keep the frequency of mutations low. Schr¨ odinger inferred that
a heredity carrier should be an “aperiodic crystal”, much more interesting than the
periodic crystals commonly studied by physicists. Indeed, only an aperiodic structure can carry information; any sensible text is aperiodic. The double helix structure
of DNA, identified by James Watson and Francis Crick (1953) soon afterwards, is
indeed both crystalline and aperiodic, with a non-repetitive sequence of base pairs
attached to a regular backbone.
Mutation rates generally vary in the range of 1 to 10 per million base pairs across
the genome. Within this range of mutability, the genome may evolve on a time scale
far exceeding an individual’s lifespan. Clearly, not only speciation but replication
would become a mess otherwise. Some common antiviral drugs drive viruses into
an “error catastrophe” of replication by their mutagenic action (Eigen, 2002). On
the other hand, the immutability of gametes on a geological time scale would stop
evolution altogether. Rapid mutations in somatic cells are detrimental as well, as
they may cause cancer or disrupt a cell’s function in another way – but Nature is
much less interested in prolonging individual lifespans than in preserving a species
in perpetuity, and cancer is as good as any other way to get rid of mortal creatures.
The rate of mutation, as it is, is quite right, and it is likely that it has itself evolved
to an optimal level in the course of evolution.
1.5 Morphogenesis of Knowledge
Think of a shepherd under starry skies. Think of him at the dawn of history, near
the year zero of the Biblical calendar, thousands of years before academia, even
thousands of years before learned priests were able to predict solar eclipses. Think of
him having the same forceful brain as his descendants in temples and universities in
the millennia to come, and having the leisure to stare at the skies – sorry, the pronoun
is masculine, his sister has other concerns. What does he see? Constellations of
fixed shapes, rising over the horizon, passing slowly along fixed routes, and settling
quietly, to rise again the following night, as the Sun and the Moon do in their way.
A few wandering stars can be seen among them, but the order of their orbits would
also be followed by a discerning eye.
What does he see? He sees heavenly order. He is here because there is order
in heaven. Life could not arise, or once arisen could not persist among the chaotic
orbits of a double solar system. There is no one looking at a brilliant sunset of a
blue sun while the red sun gently warms their limbs. He has no idea that there might
be another sun, another sun god, but he knows or rather he feels that the order he
1 Morphogenetic Universe
accustomed to the idea that macroscopic phenomena should involve a very large
number of atoms, since otherwise their ordered structure would be destroyed by
random fluctuations. It was already established at the time that genetic traits should
be coded by no more than hundreds to thousands of atoms, a minuscule number. In
order to keep such a structure intact, strong bonding is needed, and covalent chemical bonds, already understood at the time in the framework of quantum mechanics,
were the only way to keep the frequency of mutations low. Schr¨ odinger inferred that
a heredity carrier should be an “aperiodic crystal”, much more interesting than the
periodic crystals commonly studied by physicists. Indeed, only an aperiodic structure can carry information; any sensible text is aperiodic. The double helix structure
of DNA, identified by James Watson and Francis Crick (1953) soon afterwards, is
indeed both crystalline and aperiodic, with a non-repetitive sequence of base pairs
attached to a regular backbone.
Mutation rates generally vary in the range of 1 to 10 per million base pairs across
the genome. Within this range of mutability, the genome may evolve on a time scale
far exceeding an individual’s lifespan. Clearly, not only speciation but replication
would become a mess otherwise. Some common antiviral drugs drive viruses into
an “error catastrophe” of replication by their mutagenic action (Eigen, 2002). On
the other hand, the immutability of gametes on a geological time scale would stop
evolution altogether. Rapid mutations in somatic cells are detrimental as well, as
they may cause cancer or disrupt a cell’s function in another way – but Nature is
much less interested in prolonging individual lifespans than in preserving a species
in perpetuity, and cancer is as good as any other way to get rid of mortal creatures.
The rate of mutation, as it is, is quite right, and it is likely that it has itself evolved
to an optimal level in the course of evolution.
1.5 Morphogenesis of Knowledge
Think of a shepherd under starry skies. Think of him at the dawn of history, near
the year zero of the Biblical calendar, thousands of years before academia, even
thousands of years before learned priests were able to predict solar eclipses. Think of
him having the same forceful brain as his descendants in temples and universities in
the millennia to come, and having the leisure to stare at the skies – sorry, the pronoun
is masculine, his sister has other concerns. What does he see? Constellations of
fixed shapes, rising over the horizon, passing slowly along fixed routes, and settling
quietly, to rise again the following night, as the Sun and the Moon do in their way.
A few wandering stars can be seen among them, but the order of their orbits would
also be followed by a discerning eye.
What does he see? He sees heavenly order. He is here because there is order
in heaven. Life could not arise, or once arisen could not persist among the chaotic
orbits of a double solar system. There is no one looking at a brilliant sunset of a
blue sun while the red sun gently warms their limbs. He has no idea that there might
be another sun, another sun god, but he knows or rather he feels that the order he