I know my job

If no one makes the world better, the world gets worse. Fortunately, the universe often forces us to do things that make the world better. Otherwise, we would not be here.

As thinking beings, we have choices. We can sit back and hope other people make the world better; we can submit to the forces of the universe when they force us to do things that make it better; we can make it our job to do what we can to make it better—even when we don’t have to. I choose to work to make it better.

To survive, we must work; even begging and thievery take work. We can’t choose whether to work, but most of us can pick what kind of work we do. We can select the type of work that helps maintain the world; we can choose work that helps improve the world. If we’ve accumulated enough, we can live off what we’ve put aside. We can live off the work of others—under laws intended for the greater good, or by individual agreement. We can live off others by deceit or theft. I choose to maintain and improve the world.

Responsible parents make the world better by converting useless zygotes into productive people. Bobbi and I made the world better by producing three capable, responsible, socialized, educated women from our zygotes. They set to work making the world a better place. And now, parents themselves, they work with their husbands to make the world better by raising responsible children.

Work and parenting don’t take all our time or all our resources. What we do with the rest of our time is our choice. We have plenty of time to spend making the world better and plenty of time to spend letting the world get worse.

My Past Self improved the world somewhat, but he always believed he did less than he was capable of doing. In a sense he was right, and in a sense he was wrong. He did try to improve himself so he could do more but failed at most attempts. In that sense, he did as much as he was able. But all problems can be solved with the right knowledge. If he’d known what I know, he could have succeeded. But he didn’t know. He had no one to teach him and did not know how to get the right kind of help.

He stumbled on, looking for answers and slowly he’s found them. Generations of Past Selves have accumulated the knowledge that they’ve delivered to me.

We are each the best tool that we’ve got for making a better world. I now see that my purpose and responsibility is to improve the world—starting with myself. If you have a similar purpose, I hope that what I’ve written can help you.

If you don’t have a such a purpose—or any purpose, I recommend you choose one that improves the world. If you don’t select a purpose, the universe will force one on you. Fortunately, the universe forces most of us to spend at least some of our time making things better—otherwise, life would not have arisen and evolved, and civilizations would not sustain themselves and grow.

If you don’t make it your job to improve the world as much as you can, that’s your decision to make. But please step aside. I know my job, and I’ve got work to do.

Written with the help of
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The purpose of life, the universe, and everything

We know that “the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything” has an answer.

It’s 42.

Wikipedia says so.

But is there a purpose to life, the universe, and everything?

If so, what is it? 

1.

What’s a purpose?

Oxford Dictionaries defines purpose this way: “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”

On that definition, the purpose of a slot-headed screwdriver is to drive slot-headed screws. I’ve got slot-headed screwdrivers and can personally attest to having used them for precisely that purpose. My experience matches the theory.

But I’ve also used my screwdrivers for other purposes. I’ve used them to open paint cans (even though there are tools made for that specific purpose.) And more than once, I’ve used a screwdriver for the purpose for which wood chisels were invented.

Purposes are not fixed. We even have the word “repurpose” to describe everyday situations in which something is used for a new purpose.

And purpose is not singular. An object can have many purposes, depending on the situation and need.

So I’ll extend the Oxford definition of purpose to reflect reality and say: Purpose: the reason or reasons for which something is done or created or for which something exists or is used.

2.

Does the leaf of an oak tree have a purpose? Many would say yes. It exists to produce the carbohydrates that a tree needs to live and to grow. That seems obvious.

Does the chlorophyll in an oak leaf have a purpose? Many would say yes. It exists to catalyze photosynthesis. That also seems obvious.

Does the trunk of an oak tree have a purpose? Many would say yes. It exists to provide support for the branches, which in turn support the leaves. That seems obvious, as well.

Does an acorn have a purpose? Many would say yes. It exists to grow a new oak tree. No acorn, no new oak. And to a squirrel, its purpose is food.

Does an oak have a purpose? If it’s part of a managed forest, its purpose would be to produce lumber. But what if the oak tree is off in the wild, never to be seen by humans. What’s its purpose then? To produce acorns?

So it seems that the purpose of a thing depends on the system in which it exists. The purpose of a leaf seems evident because it’s part of a system called a tree. Likewise, the purpose of chlorophyll, or a tree trunk. An acorn is part of a system that produces oak trees, which produce acorns, which produce oak trees. The reasoning is circular, but so is the system.

Some would say that the purpose of any living thing is to survive, grow, and reproduce.

Then what’s the purpose of that rock next to that oak tree? To erode? To take up space?

If we don’t know what system it’s part of, it’s hard to determine its purpose.

3.

If I came on an object and didn’t know its purpose (or purposes), I’d determine them this way.

I’d observe it and see if it did something on its own. If it created some discernable and consistent effect, then I’d infer that creating that effect was one of its purposes.

If I could see how people interacted with it, I’d observe what they did with it. From that (and possibly asking them questions with them), I could learn about their purposes for it.

I might try to use that object to achieve some goal of my own. I might use it in the same way as others did, or in unique ways. If I used it, I’d count the purpose to which I applied it to be among its purposes. I might use it for several different purposes. Each would be valid.

If I could find the maker of that object, I might ask the maker for the purpose that impelled the object’s creation. That purpose would hold no privileged position to me. The purpose for which it was made would be just one of its purposes. If I could not find the object’s maker, I’d make do with the other purposes that I’d found.

4.

So what’s the purpose of life, the universe, and everything?

I like to start with what I know for sure—and that is that I am conscious. As I have said, that’s the only thing that I can know with certainty. And it’s important enough that I felt obligated to write another post to justify it.

I know that all phenomena extend from me as an observer. Wherever I go, there I am. Whatever I perceive, I’m right in the middle of.

So to me, one purpose of the universe is this: it’s something I can be conscious of. The universe might be an illusion, but it’s an illusion of which I can be conscious.

Alternatively, a purpose of the universe is: so I can exist. No universe, no me.

There’s an interesting story that explains how the universe caused me to exist. The universe started 13.77 billion years ago. It cooled, and hydrogen and some helium atoms appeared. Eventually, some atoms collected into Population I stars. Then some of those stars exploded, producing atoms of the other natural elements. The atoms that pre-existed and the atoms that resulted from the explosions collected into Population II stars (like our sun) and planets (like Earth). Then, on at least one planet, about 4 billion years ago, life appeared. And then around 74 years ago, I appeared.

This could be just part of an elaborate illusion, and the universe could have sprung into existence just now. Or an hour ago.

You exist, too, I presume. But maybe not exactly. So another purpose of the universe is to create you.

5.

I could extend the universe’s list of purposes by listing everything in the universe and asserting that causing that thing to come into being was one of the universe’s purposes. But I can make the mechanism more general and more useful.

The way that the universe caused me (and you, if you exist) to exist is simple: it collected, organized, transformed, and conveyed information. It did it until life appeared.

Then life continued to do it until consciousness appeared.

Then conscious life continued to do it until I appeared.

Then I continued to do it until I wrote this.

That’s the generalized purpose of life, the universe, and everything: it collects, organizes, transforms, and conveys information.

Information means: “what is conveyed or represented by a particular arrangement or sequence of things.”

The arrangement of base pairs in DNA conveys and represents information. So does the arrangement of rock strata in the Grand Canyon. So does the arrangement of stars in a galaxy or galaxies in a supercluster.

The universe, on its own, through natural processes and initially without interference by living things, collects information, organizes it, transforms it, and conveys it. It keeps doing that until life appears.

Once life has appeared, it accelerates the process until thinking things appear. And that accelerates the process further.

Right now, by writing this, I am helping the universe carry out this purpose. Over time I have collected information (and I am collecting additional bits as I write this). I am organizing that information in the form of this essay. And I hope to convey it to you, a reader. And since you are reading this, I’ve succeeded.

If you find it worthwhile, you will add it to your own knowledge collection, and if you organize it and convey it further, you’ll be helping carry out the purpose of life, the universe, and everything.

Meanwhile, I’m posting this. Because it’s my purpose to do so. The universe created me so that I could do that.

That’s my purpose.

And I’m posting it on purpose.

Update 23 October 2020

Thank you for writing this, Past Me.

Also thanks for the link to “The Egg.“ which almost was lost in my edit.

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