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The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond
The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond
The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond
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The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond

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Have you ever experienced coincidences that cannot be logically explained? This book helps the readers understand the meaning of synchronicity, or remarkable coincidences in people's lives. This work not only explains the mystery of synchronicity, originally introduced by Carl Jung, but it also shows how to make simple calculations to estimate the chances that coincidences are not due to mere randomness. The reader will learn how to prove that the coincidences in their lives have meaning, rather than being a 'fluke' of pure luck.

By showing that the role of chance in such phenomena is unlikely, this work uniquely connects the synchronicity phenomenon with the questions of the Universe's origin, biological evolution, quantum mechanics, elementary particles and with the incredible beauty of the laws of nature. The book demonstrates that our world cannot be viewed as purely materialistic, defined by randomness, cause-and-effect chains and social behavior. Where science does not provide definitive answers, this book offers explanations based on the idea of our consciousness's connection to the fundamental informational reality that shapes the events and processes of our world. It argues that everything we know about the Universe is fully compatible with the existence of God.

English translation of the original Russian edition (May 2024): "Неслучайный Мир Информации: Невероятная Реальность за Гранью Нашего Мира" (С. В. Чеканов / S.V. Chekanov).

 

Editorial reviews

When coincidence meets meaning: unveiling the creator of the universe via an exploration of synchronicity ... Exceptionally fascinating and interesting! This book dwells on planes of thought much above the ordinary and hence, isn't a book for everyone. However, I think the right audience will find it simply gripping! ... Additionally, it has content to spark new ideas for sci-fi filmmakers and writers that blended with their own, might result in the production of new, spellbinding movies or books. Hence, I recommend it to them as well.
— Raju Chacko (Senior Reedsy book reviewer / IT engineer) —

 

I met my friend Sergei several years ago when we began working on the encyclosphere together. I was delighted to learn he had written this book. He introduced me to the Pauli-Jung conjecture and the concept of synchronicity, and his exploration of these ideas is deeply fascinating. While Sergei's spiritual journey and his understanding of the divine differ from my own Christian faith, I believe he is on to something profound and potentially groundbreaking in this work. 
— Tim Chambers, former Deputy Director of the Knowledge Standard Foundation —

 

 

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 6, 2024
ISBN9798990642829
The Designed World of Information: Unveiling the Incredible Realm Beyond
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Author

Sergei V. Chekanov

Dr. Sergei V. Chekanov (born 1969, USSR, then Belarus) dedicated 30 years to high-energy physics, studying the creation of the smallest and most fundamental particles that comprise all matter. He graduated from the Belarusian State University with a degree in Theoretical Physics. In 1997, he obtained a Ph.D. in experimental physics at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands.  He has published over two hundred professional articles, many of which are based on data analysis obtained at multinational particle accelerators at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and DESY (German Electron Synchrotron). Dr. S.Chekanov is also the author of two books on scientific data analysis. He contributed to Standard Model measurements and led a group of scientists measuring photons (light quanta) at the highest energy ever created in particle accelerators. In recent years, Dr. S. V. Chekanov has coordinated the search for new particles beyond the Standard Model at the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) using artificial intelligence and deep neural networks.  In 2005, S.Chekanov created a software environment for data analysis, now known as DataMelt. Currently, this software is the world's leading open-source program for data analysis, statistics and scientific visualization. He is the founder of the HandWiki encyclopedia on computer science, science, technology, and general knowledge and a core developer of  the Knowledge Standard Foundation (KSF) team, founded by Wikipedia's co-founder Dr. Larry Sanger. Currently he works at Argonne National Laboratory (Chicago, USA).

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    The Designed World of Information - Sergei V. Chekanov

    1 Foreword

    1.1 From the Author

    Are you absolutely sure that the world around you contains no secrets that affect your fate, and that the Universe is not trying to communicate with you?

    The world surrounding us is traditionally explained by physical laws and cause-and-effect relationships. There is no need for a God or any immaterial forces to build a machine, make a smartphone, or a particle accelerator. It is believed that if the laws of nature are set, they autonomously work and define the structure and behavior of our Universe. Scientists find such laws and use them to create things that ease our lives.

    However, it's not all that simple. Surely you have heard stories about incredible coincidences. They occur without any reason, and their likelihood (often, in subjective opinion) should be very small. For example, you dream of a person with whom you have not communicated for decades, but the next morning you actually meet them on the street. Or you encounter a situation in life that exactly matches the plot of a recently watched movie. Each of us has heard of remarkable predictions and all kinds of omens. After some time, it turns out, some may come true. Your life experience tells you that such events are highly improbable, but you do not know how to explain them.

    Such amazing phenomena cannot be explained from the standpoint of materialism. Most often, such cases are rejected by science and considered as statistical coincidences. This is because calculations of the probabilities of such events occurring by random chance are challenging. But what if the Universe is sending us signs or some messages? Could such coincidences in our lives be the product of the unity of mind and matter?

    Despite skepticism, such events can be used as a key to gain access to the primary reality that stands behind the scenes of the world stage. To understand such phenomena, the right approach is necessary. In my book I use the laws of mathematics and probability theory to explain specific well-documented events that have occurred with destinies of people. I also show computational experiments that can easily be repeated to illustrate the possible nature of the material world. Or is it just whimsically arranged theater decor, that we perceive as life? It turns out, there are well-documented events involving the fates of people, things, and the surrounding nature that are very rare. They can be perceived as some strange signals, questioning the rationality of the Universe.

    Although the word God is not present in the subtitle of this book, I hope this discussion may convince the reader that it is God who is behind the arrangement of this world. However, this manuscript is not about religion. In this text, we use the word God as the most concise way to define the common source of life and the meanings carried by information – something you will learn about by reading this book.

    The word God is the most familiar term to the Western ear for denoting the supreme being who created the Universe and life but does not have a material form. This concept resonates with the word Dao in traditional Chinese philosophy. Аccording to Daoist teachings, it means spiritual path, the profound and eternal foundation of all things or superconscious, formless origin of the creation. Dao is the inner essence of the material world and its invisible beginning. Richard Wilhelm (1873 — 1930), a German orientalist and sinologist, brilliantly translated Dao as meaning. In his world-renowned manuscript Tao Te Ching, the famous ancient Chinese philosopher of the 6-5 centuries BC Laozi wrote: "There is something formless yet complete, that existed before heaven and earth .. It depends on nothing and is constant. All-pervasive and unshakable. The thought arises that it is the mother of all things that exist under heaven. I do not know its name, but I call it 'Meaning.' If I had to name it, I would call it 'The Great.'" (Ch. XXV.).

    The equivalence of meaning and God is also seen in the Christian worldview. One of the first lines of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible reads: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. As we know, word" is the basic independent unit of language, denoting a concept, definition of objects, their properties, phenomena and relationships with each other. It is a unit of information. In modern language, information is data about the state of something. Data can be presented in various forms and have some meaning (or idea) for the recipient.

    The ideas of this book largely complement the concept of synchronicity or synchronism — a term introduced by the famous Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, Carl Gustav Jung (1875 — 1961). Synchronism is a creative principle operating in nature that organizes events in a non-physical (causeless) way based on their meaning. In my work, I show new facts that support this phenomenon and supplement them with the results of calculations using probabilistic methods. I will demonstrate events in the history of people that can be interpreted as waves of ripples in conceptual terms, affecting the destinies of people, associated circumstances, dates and objects related to their lives. Might these observations uncover the fundamental nature of our existence?

    I wrote this book for skeptics. There are many studies appealing to the spiritual beginning, faith in God, religion, to convince people of the existence of a primary reality affecting our lives. Here I apply a new concept based on statistics, which is closest to the scientific approach to understanding such phenomena. I provide examples from life and supplement them with computational methods confirming my position that such events are indeed very rare and deserve attention.

    And one last note. This book contains some elements of numerology and related signs. For example, in many places in the text, you will find the number 6. This is the most frequently occurring number. The next most popular is the number — 9. Funny enough, by some incredible coincidence, they make up the year, month, and date of my birthday.

    1.2 Introducing the Designed World.

    Among the many things I thought I might do in my life, poetry was the last thing on my list. I have nothing against it - I'm just not the kind of person who writes verses - I'm a physicist. The only lines of poetry I could ever recall were from A. Pushkin, a Russian poet from the early 19th century. As for my knowledge of English poetry, it's practically zero.

    Yet, here it is. I've created a verse, perhaps even a small poem. And it’s all in English. I would never attempt to translate it into Russian, even though Russian is my native language. This poem could be seen as a kind of summary of this book. But you may not fully understand it without reading the book. If that's the case, just return to this chapter afterward and try to make sense of it.

    Before you read this poem, you might ask me—how did I write it? And why? Does it make this book even stranger? Probably. Do I care? Not at all. This poem appeared in my mind on October 18, 2024, after the book had already been published. I wrote it on my smartphone while I was in Paris with my wife. It took me less than two hours. After it was mostly written, I tried to understand why I wrote it.

    And I found a possible answer. The day before, on October 17, I was standing right beneath the center of the Eiffel Tower. Do you know what it looks like? Here's a photo I took that day.

    I don’t want to sound too mystical, but here is an unusual thought: Maybe the souls of all the poets who have stood there for over a century created a flux of inspiration. Perhaps that energy mixed with the prose of my book, which was still on my mind, and transformed it into this poem. If this is true, this section of my book could be a tip for young poets.

    Alright, that’s enough introduction. Here is the poem:

    ~

    The Designed World. A Poem.

    ~

    Part I. Embrace a new life

    ~

    You are born. Your destiny is hollow,

    A symbolic code - in place,

    Your life is what will follow,

    The Grand Design.  Embrace!

    ~

    Our lives are like illusions,

    They make molecules  move and thrive,

    To  help  your soul  derive  conclusions,

    And understand eternal life.

    ~

    Numbers are just symbols.

    They navigate your soul.

    Life-changing hidden signals

    That bring you to the whole,

    ~

    Such subtle signs may not be clear.

    Being overwhelmed by life’s events,

    They mark  the path that brought you here

    In fleeting times of discontents.

    ~

    Your fate is well determined.

    Your soul will fill the gaps.

    It seeks the path to freedom,

    And reconciles the past.

    ~

    The past is given as a soul cue.

    It teaches how to love

    Of those who have left before you,

    Now watching from above.

    ~

    The present moment’s action,

    And love that changes past,

    Coincidence -  attraction,

    You find it on your path.

    ~

    Coincidence - God’s action.

    He fills this world with you,

    Which brings you satisfaction,

    And love demanding too.

    ~

    Coincidence - a man’s reaction,

    A consequence of the redefined past.

    It helps your soul with satisfaction,

    Expelling  the emotion’s blast.

    ~

    Part II.  Life and matter

    ~

    A sequence of events

    That constitute your life,

    Are alternating time segments,

    Including joy and strife.

    ~

    This body built  from matter

    Will  slowly dissipate.

    But does it truly  matter

    When we  rejoin  the great?

    ~

    Our  bodies built  from atoms

    Are castle walls confining minds,

    Including veiled soul phantoms,

    Beyond scientific finds.

    ~

    That science explores the matter,

    Molecule's confetti.

    Don't  mix the quantum chatter

    With a cup of English tea.

    ~

    There is a law in the Universe

    That speaks of life's true source.

    It states that even a cell’s small  trace

    Must spring from a mindful force.

    ~

    The force behind the motion,

    And chemicals around you

    Are  just a created meaning’s ocean,

    While souls experience the view.

    ~

    Ok, you've got the notion,

    You see? The switch is on!

    And exercise some caution

    When saying - I’m alone!

    ~

    Part III.  You're back again

    ~

    You suffer, that is clear -

    The toll of walking this grinding road,

    The end is here, but don’t fear -

    You’re entering a transition mode.

    ~

    It brings you to the timeless,

    Remarkable realms.

    The information ocean

    Will hold you in its arms.

    ~

    It's made of information,

    The purest of its kind.

    It holds all forms of action,

    And meanings, by design.

    ~

    The past is not an illusion.

    You shape it, and you leave.

    Please bring it to the conclusion

    When jumping off the cliff.

    ~

    Designed lives will follow.

    They're  holders of your soul.

    It is unlikely - sorrow

    Accompanies God's goal.

    ~

    No worries are accepted.

    A plan is laid for us.

    Relax - your life will be reflected

    In children rising from the dust.

    ~

    The present, past and future,

    Are features of your brain.

    All future generations

    Absorb your soul’s terrain.

    ~

    Your earthly life will fade away.

    Existence knows no end.

    Return again to the form of clay?

    Or eternity to spend?

    ~

    (October 18, 2024. Paris)

    ~

    I’ve decided that I’m not going to change a single line of this verse after October 18. And, as I said, if you can’t understand it, just come back to this chapter after reading the book or some of its  parts.

    1.3 Features of this book

    This book is intended for a wide range of readers. Although it contains some strict calculations towards the end, we appeal to them only when necessary. And only for those who are doubtful and want to redo the calculations. This is what makes this work unique.

    Another unusual feature of this monograph lies in the combination of concepts of science, philosophy, mysticism, and spirituality. The last three help clarify the situation in cases where science and common sense become powerless.

    I have attempted to find an explanation for the amazing coincidences that are quite well documented in the past. All these historical cases have a small probability to occur. This is confirmed by strict mathematical calculations, whose computer code can be viewed in the Appendix. To verify these calculations, one simply needs to run the software code on a computer and check the answer.

    In the grand scheme of things, science says that all these events happened because there is always a small chance that something will happen. Either that or there is no explanation at all. Other possibilities are impossible, as the materialist paradigm does not allow for the existence of design, trying to explain this world through the causes and effects of unconscious forces.

    I must also note that any coincidences in the proposed explanation of unusual phenomena are also pure coincidences. With high probability, I can say that many thoughts expressed in the pages of this book could have occurred to many others, considering that the number of people on the Earth is approaching 8 billion. Just the law of large numbers at work. Or is there something else? After reading this book, you will be able to answer these questions. If you find your thoughts on the pages of this book, then this is not just the theory of probability or blind chance leading to a coincidence with what is written. Such thoughts must have occurred to very many, if this book correctly describes our reality and makes the right assumptions, one of which is that the numerous coincidences in everyday life are not entirely random. They are a sign of something common that unites all of us. Therefore, I apologize to those who have already thought in the same direction as me, but did not dare to put similar ideas into words on paper.

    1.4 Acknowledgements

    I dedicate this work to my mother, Nina, whose unexpected death motivated me to gather information for this book. Like me, my mom was not religious. She went to church just in case, usually to light a candle for health and peace. I don't remember her ever speaking about the existence of God. However, the events that occurred during and after her death were so statistically improbable that I came to fully realize that this world cannot be perceived as a reality based on inanimate matter. I think the events after her death were the most convincing demonstration of a different informational reality. I will talk about these events on the pages of this book.

    Also, I dedicate this book to my father, Vladimir. He did not go often to church, just like our whole family. Religion in Soviet society was presented as an outdated and archaic phenomenon, not allowing to move towards communism and a bright future. It was not a part of our daily life. But it was my father who reminded me that this world is full of inexplicable phenomena beyond traditional explanations. One just needs to be open to them. He always liked to say, Look ... there must be something here, after finding some unusual news.

    Having built a career as a physicist working in the field of elementary particle physics and having written hundreds of scientific papers, I attempted to apply computational methods to some known events. This book can be seen as a kind of exploratory journey into the world of unusual hypotheses. I am eternally grateful to the countless number of my colleagues I have met over my 30-year career in physics, with whom I have had many fascinating discussions about the incredible strangeness of this world. They all, without a doubt, have had a tremendous impact on this work. I am also thankful to those who disagree with my assumptions. It is through debates that truth, which we all seek, is born.

    I am particularly grateful to Larry Sanger, Tim Chambers, Cosmas Zachos, and the entire editorial team for fact-checking. As I have mentioned before, my goal was to describe scientific facts as accurately as possible. However, their interpretations are left to myself. They are undoubtedly beyond scientific inquiry and represent my personal opinion. They constitute eternal questions, the answers to which depend on worldview.

    Many of my friends, when they found out that I’m writing a book about the phenomenon of synchronicity, sent me instances from their lives where random coincidences seemed very unlikely. Unfortunately, I could not include all these life situations. The plan for this book was more ambitious than just listing cases of synchronicity.

    I am grateful to my sister Natalia, who helped with the collection of information and prompted me to make some calculations for events that were difficult to explain from the perspective of a materialistic understanding of the world, where everything works like mechanical clocks, and random chance rules over events whose origins we do not understand.

    Above all I would like to thank my wife Tatiana for her love and constant support. She helped to give my manuscript a more literary form, which made it easier for a wide range of readers to understand the material.

    I am also thankful to my sons, Alexey and Roman, for their critical remarks from the perspective of materialistic skeptics. Discussing some chapters with them reminded me of my youth and my arguments with my father about the nature of the Universe and the meaning of existence. And, as is often the case, such heated discussions help in finding suitable terms to explain complex concepts and phenomena.

    Sergei V. Chekanov (Ph.D.)

    (Chicago, February 2024)

    2 This world is such because we are in it

    The Universe we observe, from elementary particles (with a size of 10-18 meters) to clusters of galaxies (sized up to 10²³ meters), is incredibly complex. But at the same time, each of its separate parts is precisely adjusted to each other. The dominant scientific concept describing this world is called the fine-tuning of the Universe. According to this concept, the foundation of the Universe is based not on arbitrary laws, but on strictly defined values of fundamental constants that are part of physical laws. Our world would cease to exist if one physical constant changed by a fraction of a percent.

    Let's provide an example. If we change the mass of a neutron — a particle that is a fundamental component of atomic nuclei — by just one thousandth of a percent, it would lead to the instability of the hydrogen atom. This, in turn, would lead to the absence of hydrogen in the Universe — the main building material for stars. As a result, stars would no longer form.

    There are about twenty different fundamental parameters defining the structure of our Universe, and this number is constantly increasing with each new discovery. These constant values are interconnected through laws and mathematical relationships. Changing one constant by an infinitesimally small amount leads to changes in other constants. Such an incredibly precise adjustment of physical and chemical laws is necessary for the existence of stars, planets, and galaxies. Moreover, the laws of nature themselves appear as if they were specially selected so that our Universe and life itself could exist.

    This precise adjustment is also evident at the planetary level. Minor changes in the size of the Sun, the Moon, or even Jupiter would lead to the impossibility of life on Earth. As a result, humans would never become the witnesses of this Universe.

    Currently, the most popular explanation for such an impressive adjustment of physical constants describing our world is based on the anthropic principle. Its essence lies in the idea that the existence of the Universe is impossible without an observer (a human). It is the observer who comprehends the cosmos with all the necessary qualities for the development of not just biological, but intelligent forms of life. In the infinite diversity of other universes that existed previously or exist (possibly) now, it is only in this Universe that humans appeared, and it is they who observe it. Thus, on one hand, the anthropic principle provides an explanation for the structure of our Universe, the fine-tuning of physical constants, and cosmological parameters necessary for the emergence and existence of intelligent life, while on the other hand, it suggests the possibility of the existence of other universes with different laws (and observers).

    The term anthropic principle was first proposed in 1973 by English physicist Brandon Carter, however, the idea itself had been expressed multiple times before. Probably, it was first clearly formulated by Soviet astrophysicist Abraham L. Zelmanov (1913 – 1987) in 1955. Unfortunately, many scientists do not recognize this idea as absolutely scientific, as it explains the unknown through another unknown by the logic of a vicious circle, as the Polish philosopher and futurologist Stanislaw Lem (1921 – 2006) figuratively expressed in his writings.

    Another version of the fine-tuning explanation is the theory of cosmological natural selection, proposed by the American theoretical physicist Lee Smolin. According to this model, when a new universe arises, it inherits the laws of physics and fundamental constants from its parent universe, but with slight random deviations from the original values. Those universes, whose laws of physics do not allow for the formation of stable systems, do not leave offsprings. Thus, a kind of cosmological natural selection of universes takes place.

    Unfortunately, even these hypotheses are not scientific, as they cannot be tested. Moreover, this is an attempt to explain one unknown, namely fine-tuning of a single universe, through very complex manipulation of other unknown (and unobservable) mechanisms of infinite numbers of (unknown and unobservable) universes.

    Here is another unscientific hypothesis explaining why the laws of nature are arranged in such a way that biological life and human existence are possible: Maybe the design of laws and their fine tuning resulted from conscious activity? We plan to discuss this latter idea in this book. But before doing this, it is not unreasonable to ask: Is it bad that all these hypotheses are unscientific?

    Science is a specific field of activity aimed at developing and systematizing objective knowledge about reality based on cause-and-effect relationships. The hypothesis that the world is created by intelligence is not scientific. But many known hypotheses involving scientific terms and acting on an infinite number of universes are also not scientific, as they can never be tested. Alongside this, they are too complex compared to the hypothesis of the creation of the Universe and the intelligent foundation on which this world is built upon.

    Our Universe is not understood through science alone. Science is just one of the tools for answering fundamental questions, such as how is it structured? and what processes are required to explain this? without involving any intelligent influence from outside. Not all significant principles can be reduced to scientific-rational ones. There are many other ways to understand the world. Is it true that you had a great-grandfather who loved your great-grandmother? You can reach the truth, but science has nothing to do with it here. Science, by its nature, operates within certain boundaries. It refrains from making judgments on aesthetics and morality, avoids speculation on the ultimate causes or meanings, and limits its conclusions to the workings of natural phenomena. Historical documents, logical reasoning, and philosophical inquiry provide valuable resources for addressing questions beyond the scope of scientific investigation. They can also lead to truth. And then there are intuition and feelings, which often come from nowhere, but can still lead to correct answers.

    But let's return to fine tuning. I invite you to step back and view ourselves from an external perspective. Imagine a spaceship, flying through the depths of space. It is incredibly complex and fully automated. It was created with one purpose — to fly in empty space and support human life inside. The ship consists of a million parts, precisely adjusted for each function. Inside the ship, there is an infant. The ship is built in such a way that it replaces his mother. It raises him, feeds him, and teaches him basic logic using games. The child does not realize where he is and what he is flying for. Eventually, he understands that he is flying in some sort of craft and notices what it looks like from the outside. He starts asking questions. Where am I? What is this? To understand who built the spaceship, he begins to experiment and assembles a similar toy ship from Lego bricks. The child is happy, but here's the problem — the ship made of blocks does not have a single function of the real ship. Trying to recreate the ship's processes, he puts his Lego ship in a bag and starts experimenting with the contents, creating pressure, friction, and even casting spells. Naturally, all his attempts turn out to be futile. The boy quickly comes to the conclusion that the ship was created by a more advanced mind.

    His second realization is related to the understanding that the creation of such an amazingly complex environment surrounding him is connected with achieving some mysterious goal, a part of which he is also. Simply, this conclusion follows from his observations — every complex part of the ship is created for some purpose. Nothing complex can emerge out of thin air. Realizing the uniqueness of his ship, the child begins to guess that he has a purpose too, or mission.

    In most cases, his reasoning about his purpose will be correct. Someone, for some reason, created a complex spaceship to support his life. Of course, there may be other explanations. For example, he may have ended up on the ship due to some coincidence. But this will clearly be too contrived, and we are looking for a simple and most natural explanation.

    Science will not embrace the discovery that this child has made. Intelligent design of complex systems is excluded from scientific explanations. If the child was told that he must use the scientific approach and nothing else, then he would beat and knead the bag with Lego bricks until old age, trying to find a random process leading to functional complexity, but he would never prove the method by which the ship arose through random processes.

    From the perspective of materialists, the example I provided is not convincing, as we already know that spaceships are made by beings with intelligence. But is this really important? How else can we express opinions on any matter without relying on the concepts we possess? Even if it were not the described ship, but something more complex, unlike any object known to us before, the conclusion would still be the same. The chance that a complex environment supporting life assembled itself by chance, and the infant simply happened to be in this environment and was able to comprehend this coincidence, is negligible.

    Let's now come up with a story in support of fine tuning from purely materialistic viewpoints. Can you do this? Even if you manage, it's unlikely that anyone will understand you. After all, you will have to operate with complex and contrived categories for which there is no slightest reason to be true. Most importantly, you need to invent a natural process that creates the incredible complexity of a certain structure performing some functions.

    Materialists believe in the creative miracles of the mechanical interactions of molecules leading to life. They require billions of years and vast spaces to convince themselves and others that such a creative power of inanimate matter is possible. This is the only redemptive explanation for such reasoning. Later in this book, we will show that even events that have occurred over several hundred years sometimes do not lend themselves to a mechanistic-naturalistic understanding of the world. Then what can be said about billions of years on gigantic spatial scales? Anything can happen. And here all our expectations that the natural phenomena of nature can rationally explain the incredible complexity of life come to an end.

    Our world is arranged in such a way that the truth lies in the simplest explanation. As the theologian and philosopher Anselm of Canterbury (1033 – 1109) said in the 11th century:

    Everything complex needs for its existence that from which it is composed, and to these things, it owes its existence; for whatever it may be, it exists through them, and they do not exist through it; and therefore, the complex can never be the highest.

    In other words, a complex explanation depends too heavily on many unpredictable factors. This reduces the likelihood of a correct interpretation of historic events. Complex random (and non-random) processes occurring over a vast period of time can lead to any outcome. It's far from obvious that such natural processes are the reason for our existence. But more on that later.

    But what is the reason for the fine tuning of physical constants, laws and the very existence of these laws? The most probable and logical explanation is an initial plan, as in our example with the child and the ship. For every plan, blueprints and calculations are necessary. Information is needed. And also required is conscious decision-making and the ability and the will to execute such projects.

    3 Information, meaning and consciousness

    If you ask what information is from someone dealing with this subject, the answer would be something like this: Information gives details about the state of something, embedded with some kind of meaning (idea) for the recipient. Or information is knowledge that is necessary for orientation and interaction with the surrounding environment.

    The problem with all these definitions is that they operate with difficult concepts such as details or knowledge. This does not make the task of defining information any easier. Some even use words like stimuli or meanings, which have value in a certain context for the recipient. In any case, this definition is quite abstract and can be challenging. In most cases, people try to imagine bookshelves, computer hard drives, or something else that contains data records.

    In reality, the concept of information is an abstract notion. Information is a fundamental product of consciousness that cannot be touched or seen (Colburn 2000). It is different from thought or knowledge. Thoughts can be organized and fleeting. Knowledge implies awareness or the understanding of a subject based on received information and thoughts. Knowledge is a particular kind of information.

    Information can be organized data that can contain descriptions of objects, knowledge, feelings and instructions for performing actions. These are data that make sense to someone. In an abstract form, information does not need a material medium. However, it's much easier for people to understand the term data, i.e. when information is entered and stored in some material storage. Such data carriers can change and become more complex as society progresses. Initially, these were arrangements of stones on sand, birch bark and papyrus. Now we use paper, modulated electromagnetic waves or computer hard drives. Logically, before information was transferred to material objects in the form of messages, it must have existed somewhere.

    Perhaps, it is worth examining what consciousness and intelligence are, as both concepts are central to our discussion. Typically, consciousness refers to the notion of knowledge and perception of oneself as something independent from the external world. Consciousness is aware of its existence and experiences it sensually. It has a perception and understanding of the surrounding world and itself. This is only possible after being separated from the world. Finally, consciousness has free will and can make decisions.

    The word consciousness will be used interchangeably with the concept of a soul. In some religions, the soul is that part of us that transitions from one life to another. On the other hand, consciousness refers to the current embodiment of the soul on Earth. For some spiritual thinkers, all information accumulated by consciousness is erased after death, while the soul continues its journey. I cannot say whether the destruction of information actually occurs or not. In my opinion, the obliteration of an incredible number of records with event happenings, accumulated over a person's lifetime, seems quite illogical. If such a thing happens, then what remains for the soul? This book is not religious, so we will not make a distinction between consciousness, the soul and even the spirit (the immaterial part that connects us with the celestial realm or the God).

    Unlike consciousness, intelligence is the ability to process information. It can also solve problems and perform calculations to manage the environment surrounding a person. It is not related to the sensory aspect of perceiving the world. In this book, we will also use the word mind — a combination of consciousness and intelligence.

    Figure.3. Dark blue arrows indicate the exchange of information in the form of data. Dark ovals represent intelligence. Light ovals signify consciousness. Dashed arrows illustrate the connection required for the perception of data as some form of information.

    In this world, material carriers are needed for the existence and exchange of information. It is said that information is encoded onto these carriers. But for information and encoding, intelligence under the guidance of consciousness, which makes the decision to act and launches the required computational algorithms, is required. Intelligence does the main work of processing and encoding the acquired knowledge from messages. At the same time, a second mind is necessary to read and perceive the information. This reading is possible if this second mind has already agreed with the information source how the records should be recognized. Or, it itself figured out how to read and to understand the information due to the similarity of its mind's construction or even because of a common source of origin of these minds. Figure.3 illustrates the concept of information and exchange between individual parts, which can represent

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