Are you fascinated by the topic of the origin of life?
The existence of symbols, or a set of symbols, that we commonly refer to as a code or scheme is direct evidence against non-directed processes as the origin of life. It raises some intriguing questions about the nature of the universe and the probability of intelligent design.
The enigma lies in the origin of patterns, which requires an interpreter, a sender and receiver. The use of symbols is employed to express the existence of something other than the medium by which the content is stored. The origin of information, therefore, becomes a critical question. If undirected material processes are not capable of generating a “code,” then what is? And based on all observations, is there a common origin or cause for all codes?
Codes are arbitrary in their use of physical assets. Binary data, for instance, captures a small electronic (electromagnetic) charge and is stored in sets of eight (or more) to represent something it is not. It’s interesting to note that the fact that the code could be anything is also the same evidence that it must only be one thing, one set condition, one scheme.
Bob Bemer, a computer scientist, recognized the usefulness of an “escape” character, or condition, to prevent runaway processes from overtaking the entire system. He was also one of the first to define numeric and alpha characters in his design. In his scheme, the TAB key is represented by the first and fourth bit, and the Carriage Return is represented by the number thirteen. There is no physical necessity for this delineation between control characters and alpha-numeric characters bound to binary represented as decimals. Bob chose which decimal values would be represented for each character, and his scheme has become a standard.
The external agreement is necessary to cause the code to be an effective form of information transmission. ASCII and DNA are both symbolic schemes, and schemes require a schemer. Symbolic linking of a physical resource to a non-physical characteristic is unique to intelligence.
In the context of DNA, Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, and Cytosine are the building blocks and not based on two bits, but rather a four bit system. The triplet nucleotide base codes for a single amino acid (of twenty) into linear strings of single amino acids that combine to fold into shapes that comprise the molecular machines. The arbitrary condition and neutrality of binary data is exactly the same for DNA.
Triplets are combined with two other triplets to make a triplet of a triplet. The juxtaposition of the triplets alters the percentage of development and rate of production. This shows that codes could have codes within them.
In conclusion, the existence of symbols and codes is direct evidence against non-directed processes as the origin of life. It raises interesting questions about the nature of the universe and the possibility of intelligent design. The neutral and arbitrary condition of binary data is exactly the same for DNA, where nucleotides are not aware that they are part of a nucleotide triplet and do not alter their neighboring codons based on physicality. The juxtaposition of the triplets alters the percentage of development and rate of production, which makes it evident that codes could have codes within them. It’s a fascinating subject, and it makes us wonder what other discoveries we might make about the mysteries of the universe.