A Musing: Rethinking the Search for Life Out There
CHAPTER PROLOGUE
Could there be a form of life that doesn’t echo back the question “Is there life out there?”, but instead answer: “What if the question should be turned inward.”
The Waterbringer of Life
The term silf was in Old English associated with an air spirit and the water stream of life. It is often said that water is required for life. But what do we really mean when we say “water”? Usually, in context, scientists mean H₂O, the liquid that covers most of Earth. And yes, H₂O is essential for life as humans know it. Still, hydrogen is the first element on the periodic table. The word hydrogen means “water bringer”: what kind of water does it bring?
While we commonly say water equals H₂O, the beginning of the formula actually takes us to hydrogen: what kind of water is it bringing? This raises a philosophic question: when we search for life beyond Earth should we only be looking for H₂O? If humans want to find life as humans don’t know it, perhaps humans need to be open to what “life” might be like, beyond Earthly density. Hydrogen makes up about three-quarters of all normal matter in the observable universe.
On Earth, though, it rarely appears on its own. It is so light that it escapes Earth’s atmosphere. So, what kind of life might exist beyond Earthly limits, and why is it that humans, too, may feel a longing to escape. To travel out in space beyond Earth’s atmosphere, to feel light and weightless.
A Form of Life That Doesn’t Echo Back
Maybe the real question isn’t simply: “does a planet have water?”, but instead, based on the expression “what planet are you on?” the question would be: what kind of water does the planet in question have? This rhetorical shift could change the way we think about life in the universe, and on Earth. Does life as humans don’t know it even need a planet and an ‘echosystem’ at all. What do we really mean when we say “life”. The word “life” is used in expressions such as: “life of the party”, “get a life”, “spark of life”, and “get our life back”.
What does it mean to have life? Perhaps, life is to be living. Is it possible that human is alive, yet still without life. A philosophic view could be that a human is alive, while a human being has life. Metaphorical, it is the being in ‘human being’ that is life and therefor has life. Could there be a form of life that doesn’t echo back the question “is there life out there?”, but instead answer: “What if the question should be turned inward”.
Life as Humans Don’t Know It
This connects with the question “What does it mean to be human?”, often raised in context of AI machines. It is a fundamental question that still doesn’t have a non-disputed answer: a rhetorical question always holds an answer, perhaps the question in itself should be reconsidered. What if humanity itself is in an existential crisis. Searching outward for life while overlooking the search for potential life, and life potential within, by asking: Who am I?
If humans really want to discover life as humans don’t know it, then humans must hold space to be open-minded. When there is space, the universe silently invites us to expand our consciousness, from within. Metaphorical, perhaps the very physical expansion of the Universe, that are observable through human perception, is a kind of ‘wink’ to humanity, encouraging to broaden perception, expand our view, by challenging assumptions. Not just life in space, out there, but most importantly, to connect with life within, the being in the human being.
Both “life” and “water” may exist in forms far beyond what are observable through human perception. It is common knowledge that the greatest challenge of them all is to challenge human believes: Does life as humans don’t know it even need a planet and an ‘echosystem’ at all.
FOR DIALOGUE:
- What does it mean to be human?
- What does the water of life mean?
- Does life as humans don’t know it need a planet?
