Evolution by Imagination

I have a slightly different take on evolution than the one narrated by mainstream science. I call it 'evolution by imagination'. I have no objection that natural selection is a driving evolutionary force nor do I contest that genes are passed down based on beneficial survival traits. However, I also believe that something much more divine is at play... Imagination. Every species is interconnected through their global consciousness and inside this mystical web lies the thoughts and dreams of each individual making up that species. As members of a particular species spread out they are faced with a wide variety of obstacles and challenges to overcome. By coming up against different environmental scenarios the species is able to assess its strengths and weaknesses and imagine what an improved version of itself could look like. I believe that this conscious vision of the future is the true driving force behind evolution. The process of natural selection ensures that the quicker rabbit and the more attentive deer are able to pass on their genes but it does not fully account for some of the unbelievable adaptations seen throughout the natural world. Take chameleons for instance. I reject the notion that chameleons randomly mutated one day to develop self-camouflaging skin. Mainstream science argues that a series of purposeless mutations resulted in the first camouflaged chameleon and that this survival advantage then allowed that particular chameleon to pass on his/her genetics. From there the mainstream narrative claims that the process of natural selection takes over and the rest is history. I disagree. I believe that the first camouflaged chameleon was actually created much earlier in the imagination of a regular old chameleon. Instead of thanking random chance for the beautiful skin of a modern chameleon I think we should actually thank the first chameleon to ever think to itself, "It would be really cool if my skin would change color to match this leaf".

Just because we cannot decipher all the patterns in nature does not mean she is random. What might look like a string of random mutations to us could easily be part of an intricate process to help manifest the vision of a species into the physical reality. Consider some of the unbelievable innovations demonstrated by the natural world all around us. There are squirrels that can fly and lizards that can run on water. For real people. We shouldn't let our rational minds stand in the way of seeing nature's true magic. Personally, I find it hard to conceive that one mutant squirrel just woke up with wings one day and started flying from tree to tree. Nature doesn't make mistakes and the accumulation of loose webbing connecting the limbs of a flying squirrel is a perfect example. The theory of 'evolution by imagination' proposes that this mutation wasn't a mistake, it was a dream. At one point, in some furry brain somewhere, a squirrel allowed itself to look up from the ground and imagine, "what would it be like if I could fly from this tree right here to that one all the way over there?". Once that thought popped into the head of the flying squirrel's distant ancestors the process of evolution had already begun. The species didn't evolve overnight but slowly the thought spread. More and more squirrels began to imagine flying from tree to tree. As this shared vision of flight began to capture the global consciousness of the squirrel population the dream began to manifest into the physical world. Squirrels were born with more and more loose skin connecting their limbs. The increased webbing of each new generation of the squirrel population was in direct response to their shared vision of flight. Nature is always listening and it knows what it takes to turn any thought from a dream into a reality. At first, the excess skin on the squirrels did not serve as an evolutionary advantage at all. Before the squirrels had enough skin to fully propel themselves through the air it was really just dead weight. In fact, the extra weight might have actually endangered the first wave of flying squirrels. Doesn't that contradict the idea that natural selection alone causes animals to evolve? Before the transitioning squirrels were capable of flight, their extra skin served little to no survival advantage but that didn't stop the process of skin accumulating. Once the dream of flight had been planted in the consciousness of the squirrel population it could not be put back in the box. Generation after generation the squirrels wings began to develop more and soon the squirrels were defying gravity for hundreds of feet.

Humans are yet another example of the power of imagination. Look around you, human society is a crazy place. We have giant metal boxes with wheels powered by whirring machinery. We have art, theater, and poetry. We have iPhones and boogie boards, basketballs and stuffed animals. So much of the world we've created is born out of imagination rather than survival necessities and yet we ignore this in our scientific understanding of how life progresses. Why? Scientists should look closer at the behavior of our own species to better understand the natural world. We should never forget that we too are nature after all. Some people argue that mankind is done evolving because we have seemingly escaped the food chain. I personally belief this notion could not be further from the truth. In fact, I believe that we are currently living through a metamorphosis unlike anything the human race has ever seen. We are awakening to our power. The truth is that we are all deeply intuitive, psychic, multidimensional beings. We can connect with our innate abilities by opening our minds to our true potential. We are real life superheroes and we are awakening to new powers every day. Even science fiction concepts such as telekinesis are now being openly researched by the scientific world. As things stand, the average human uses less than 10% of our genetic code and the rest of our dormant DNA is classified as 'Junk DNA'. I would contest that nature doesn't produce junk. I believe that written into our genetics is a whole world of untapped potential and as we unlock our hidden talents it is important that we thank the dreams of our ancestors for the gifts we possess today. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." - Albert Einstein.

The Curious Case of Alfred Russel Wallace

To help disprove the notion that natural selection alone can explain how life came to be I would like to site the man who came up with the theory of evolution by natural selection in the first place, Alfred Russel Wallace. Most people believe that Darwin alone came up with natural selection but Wallace actually developed the theory of natural selection independently through his own research. He later reached out to Darwin to collaborate and get his work peer reviewed. The Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution was born through their collaboration and this theory continues to be the mainstream scientific explanation for how life evolves. However, in the years following their research, something interesting happened. Wallace began entertaining new ideas about life and human spirituality and ultimately had his name removed from the theory of evolution. Wallace concluded that evolution by natural selection was not sufficient to fully understand humanity's origins. While he had no questions about the existence of natural selection as an evolutionary force, he disagreed with Darwin that natural selection was a random process and argued that it was driven by a greater purpose. Wallace became captivated by alternative schools of thought and began advocating for open mindedness in the scientific community.

One subject which Wallace began to embrace was the topic of human spirituality. While the process of natural selection provided an explanation for the development of new biological traits, Wallace began to accept a spiritual side of reality which could not be entirely explained through Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' mindset. His interest in spiritualism pushed him from the cutting edge of science to a peripheral figure but perhaps he was just ahead of his time. He also began to fixate on many other ideas which have found their way into the Pyramid Realm. One such fascination was with life on other planets. Wallace wrote multiple books on the likelihood of extraterrestrial life and even made the case for life existing on Mars. He also began to study the scientific reality of hypnosis and other non-physical phenomenon. As is often the case, Wallace was ridiculed by both the religious and scientific sides of the spectrum. In response, Wallace objected that, "I thus learnt my first great lesson in the inquiry into these obscure fields of knowledge, never to accept the disbelief of great men or their accusations of imposture or of imbecility, as of any weight when opposed to the repeated observation of facts by other men, admittedly sane and honest. The whole history of science shows us that whenever the educated and scientific men of any age have denied the facts of other investigators on a prior grounds of absurdity or impossibility, the deniers have always been wrong."

Long story short, Alfred Wallace was a real one. He not only fought to include spiritual and non-physical phenomenon into the scientific field of study, he also advocated heavily for human rights. Wallace was an early supporter for women's suffrage and repeatedly spoke out about the dangers and wastefulness of militarism. In one letter, Wallace was quoted saying that, "all modern wars are dynastic; that they are caused by the ambition, the interests, the jealousies, and the insatiable greed of power of their rulers, or of the great mercantile and financial classes which have power and influence over their rulers; and that the results of war are never good for the people, who yet bear all its burthens". Outside of his scientific research, Wallace also developed very controversial political views. He argued that the Capitalist system was inherently flawed and was quoted saying, "Those who succeed in the race for wealth are by no means the best or the most intelligent." Wallace advocated heavily for Utopian philosophies and if he were alive today I like to imagine he would be a proud member of the Pyramid Realm team.

Science Fiction Becoming Science Fact

The work of scientists has long been fueled by the imagination of science fiction writers. Lasers, robots, rocket ships, and atomic power were all described in fiction long before they became a physical reality. Today, the frontiers of science continue to be inspired by ideas that were first explored in science fiction. One field that has been heavily influenced by the inspiration of science fiction novels is that of artificial intelligence and robotics. The concept of advanced robots dates back thousands of years. Even in ancient greek mythology, the being Talos (pictured to the left) was said to be constructed of brass and had liquid metal blood. More recent science fiction literature such as I, Robot tackle some of the ethical dilemmas that humanity might face when integrating intelligent robotics into the heart of human civilization. Written by Isaac Asimov in 1950, the book I, Robot is a series of short stories that speculates at what issues might arise by becoming reliant on artificial intelligence. Like all the best science fiction, Asimov's novel has aged like fine wine and his ethical analysis of the relationship between man and machine has never been more relevant than it is today. What happens if robots see humanity as a threat to itself and the planet? What happens if artificial intelligence begins to question the decision making of its creators? How can humans ensure that we are using robotics and not the other way around? How can we protect our humanity from the analytical nature of artificial intelligence? These themes have been tackled time and time again by various authors and directors and illustrate the ability for science fiction to accurately predict the coming dilemmas facing the human race.

The technology that was once held in the imagination of science fiction novelists is now the reality we find ourselves living in. We are living in a world with space ships, brain chips, and quantum computing. We have developed flame-throwers, laser guns, and AI watches. We can jump into virtual realities. We are surrounded by technology that once existed within the imagination of the brilliant visionaries of the past. Consider your iPhone for instance. References to personal touch screen devices dates all the way back to the early 1900s. Nikola Tesla himself once predicted that, "When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket. We shall be able to witness and hear events—the inauguration of a President, the playing of a world series game, the havoc of an earthquake or the terror of a battle—just as though we were present." Pretty on the money for 100 years ago eh? Personal touch screen technology was also portrayed in Stanislaw Lem’s 1961 novel Return From the Stars as well as the infamous Star Trek series. I believe the development of these technologies demonstrates the instrumental role played by imagination in human evolution. Before Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak could figure out the code and circuitry necessary to bring the iPhone to life someone had to conceptualize it. Someone had to have the vision to imagine a tiny computer that fits in your pocket and connects each person with the rest of humanity. Imagination is more fundamental than science.

Now that we have the science fiction technology of the future, what comes next? I believe the next science fiction concepts that will become reality are more idealistic forms of governance. The current system has gotten us this far but it was not built to accommodate the technologies which have suddenly become available to us. I spend much of my time discussing the inequities of the capitalist system but you could argue that we owe it a debt of gratitude. The competition of consumer market is what helped develop rocket ships and iPhones. It wasn't always pretty but I'll concede it was superior to the communist alternative. However, we have reached a time in human history where the capitalist marketplace no longer serves the best interest of the people. When our forefathers wrote the constitution they could not comprehend all the issues facing the modern world. They could not grasp the concept of quantum computing or space tourism. They could not protect us indefinitely from banking corruption. Nor could they foresee major corporations using politicians and lobbyist to establish an Oligarchy under their control. The founding fathers did the best they could with what they had but I believe it is time for some fundamental changes. The technology that currently exists has the power to tackle the worlds biggest problems but it must be applied correctly and kept in the right hands. It's time to hear out the science fiction dreamers and their visions for society. How could we eradicate poverty? How could we reverse the damage being done to the earth we live on? Could we use the technology at our disposal to build a new world where homelessness, war, and oppression are a thing of the past?

Evolution by Imagination

The Curious Case of Alfred Russel Wallace

Science Fiction Becoming Science Fact

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