Wednesday, June 1, 2011

MOG: The Invisible Invincibles


The first post of Mind of God (MOG) series dealt with the illusion of our existence. In the second post we realized that the line of difference between living and non-living is thinner than we think. Conscience is energy and it is inter-convertible with matter (e=mc^2).  This post is meant to challenge the human biasness towards thinking that we are the ultimate species. This post is meant to humble us.


Even though you cannot perceive ‘it’, it is all around you; it is within you, watching your every move, all the time. From the bright sky to the dark depths, ‘it’ is everywhere. You are here because of ‘it’, and it is ‘it’ that will turn you to dust. ‘It’ was there long before you were born, and ‘it’ will be here long after your race perishes. It is more intelligent than you think; it is more advanced than humans. Welcome to the world of the invisible invincibles.



Our brain is biased towards thinking that evolution has created more advanced species through time, ultimately making the best of them all – us!  It is that biasness that made us ignore the tiny but omnipresent microorganisms. The species of virus and bacteria were here long before any complicated life evolved, and are going to be there after the sun blasts. We, the complex organisms, have evolved from them and are here only because these tiny species have allowed us to be here. 99% of the microorganisms helps us to survive. Each of our cells has at least one [endosymbiont] microorganism called mitochondria (they have a separate identity, even different type of DNA from your cells within which it lives). Without them we will die within seconds. And the other one percent can kill us at will. This 1% has also shaped out history…check out this post to know more!

These invisible species are also invincible. Their survival defies logic and challenges our conventional thinking about the limitations of life. Bacteria have been found to survive on concentrated sulphuric acid that melts metals. They are present in the freezing ice of Antartica to the magma vents of mid oceanic ridges. They live at depths of 600m and probably beyond, surviving on rocks. They have survived in moon when a lens was accidently left behind. Blast the DNA of deinococcus radiodurans and they will soon regenerate. Find a new antibiotic to kill a bacterium and it will evolve to resist it. The more our scientists find advanced methods to kill them the hardier they become.  Our intelligence has failed to stop them.

Entire clan of bacteria comprise a single genetic pool and they share their genetic code with each other. Once a bacterium finds a new code it shares it with the entire clan within seconds. Their communication system is faster and efficient than your 3.5G mobile connection. They behave like one interconnected species, like a single conscience. This makes it so difficult to kill them.

They are more intelligent than you think. Intelligence is something that helps you adapt and survive. Intelligence does not mean creation of wheels to move, they can move much faster by efficient ways without polluting the world. Intelligence does not mean creation of language; they behave like a single connected species (that is why a disease spread and stop through out the globe at the same time) without the need of being multilinguist and without the problems of electromagnetic microwave radiations. They do not have the problem of building civilization and then fighting to save it. We innovate to adapt, they evolve. And they survive under any condition.

One wise man once said simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. The multi-cellular organisms’ live for a short duration of time, even the mighty dinosaurs could not survive. We are imperfect and temporary. However, these micro-organisms are here for millions of years. We owe our life to these magnificent specks of conscience. They are the ultimate form of life. More than 90% of their characteristics are mysterious to us. The more we know about them the more we are humbled. It seems like we are a temporary unstable by-product of evolution and the world truly belongs to them. They are probably present through out the universe as one inter-connected conscience and we are just the residue that got separated. Once we die and decay we will probably go back and mix with them and become part of the eternal conscience.

24 comments:

  1. Have to try it...though i have loads of books in my shelf that i hav to finish first...thanks

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  2. Good so far, its written like a story. Easy to comprehend and keeps you gripped. :)

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  3. Thanks Tulika
    yes we are...we are vulnerably not only from external forces but also from internal ones...At times our cells, which most of the times function perfectly (which in itself is a miracle), behave in a crazy way. Instead of dying for us they start growing. Infact it happens a lot of time, and most of the time it gets controlled. But occasionally it grows out of control and we have cancer....Surprisingly, having a cancer is more likely, we should be grateful to our tiny cells for keeping us safe :-)
    How is that book BTW..

    Cheers!
    SUB

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  4. SUB, brilliant thought! The line I loved the most... "This post is meant to humble us." It did :)

    I am currently reading The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee....Its a biography of cancer...your post reminds me of that book...and of how we are still struggling to fight the disease, even after years of research. We are by no means the most adapted species.

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  5. yea...true...thanks for your comments Alka...

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  6. Interesting perspective...human intelligence is not the ultimate and we are but mere specks on a large canvass.

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  7. very nice write up....to humble us yes agree. our attitude towards life needs to be this humble

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  8. :-)....I don't  think I understand that much...I am still trying....
    ...but, never the less, I will take the compliment :-)....thanks a lot

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  9. To be honest, if I was impressed by your posts and thinking earlier, now I am all blown away. It's absolutely fantastic to know that you understand so much. And also that you make sure you get your point across without making it too heavy for the readers.
    Hats off to you.  :)

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  10. Thanks for your comments Prateek...

    It is not just you, but most ppl believe that human beings are
    the ultimate creation of god or evolution....But I beg to differ...

    I am sorry, but I find no logic in that. Our definition of intelligence is
    itself biased.

    But again at some level it does not really matter...


    Cheers!
    SUB

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  11. Thanks Janhvi....

    Honestly I did not want to mean that the world does not belong to us....it
    belongs to all of us....just that we are not the ultimate species as most
    ppl believe (staying within the realms of illusion that is). We are probably
    part of a bigger continuity which includes everything else (even the
    'non-living' conscience). But i do not want to sound too philosophical in
    my posts as yet. Facts/science makes it sound logical (even though I know
    that logic too is flawed).

    You can keep irritating me!!!...every writer wants to find a good critic...I
    am glad I found you...help me get better...
    yes i meant invisible..thanks...

    Cheers!
    SUB

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  12. Post was nice except our conflicting views. Humans are the ultimate specie, only on the Earth. You cannot deny the possibility of more "intellectual" species living covertly somewhere distant from the Blue Planet perhaps the possibility of their intellectualness is far above us. That is just one out of many permutation and combination. 
    I am a glad human anyways. :)

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  13. How very true. The world for sure does not belong to us. But does it belong to them, or anyone? This world is as transitory as U or I or anyone. This world too is an illusion. And I am surprised you talk of life and death of human species when we have long ago established (in your 1st post) that life and death is an illusion, we are all but part of one brahma and so "life" and "death" are nothing. 
    But yes, within this illusion, we are not the kings, they are.

    As usual (my irritating habit) - a doubt: Did you truly mean to write "These invincible species are also invincible", or was one of the words meant to be invisible.

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  14. When I was reading this I felt like I'm reading a science journal or something like that.... it just forced me to think at cellular level and made me realize that....... hell yeah !! we are temporary and stands no where in front of this intelligent clan.
    I think human beings ( if they want ) can learn loads of mechanism and ideas from them.

    well crafted and in literal sense a mind-blowing post !!!!

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  15. This post reminds me a few lines from the movie, War of the Worlds "From the moment the invaders arrived, breathed our air, ate and drank, they were doomed. They were undone, destroyed, after all of man's weapons and devices had failed, by the tiniest creatures that God in his wisdom put upon this earth. By the toll of a billion deaths, man had earned his immunity, his right to survive among this planet's infinite organisms. And that right is ours against all challenges. For neither do men live nor die in vain."

    So true. Humans may become extinct but micro-organisms will not.

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  16. your such posts are hugely thought provoking

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  17. Nice Post. Some facts that makes you think about your existence.

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  18. really amazing.. n true :) Nice read

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