The Effect Loop in the Origin of Life: Classification and Abstraction of Chains
I would like to explore system modeling centered on loops.
As part of my personal research, I am investigating the origin of life from a systems engineering perspective. Instead of focusing on elements like matter, function, or properties, I am adopting an approach that focuses on feedback loops. From this perspective, I believe it is beneficial to model the loops that appear in systems.
However, when considering a loop-centric model, I often find myself getting confused. I realized this is because the loops that appear in living phenomena are multifaceted and multi-layered. In this article, I will delve deeper into the multifaceted and multilayered nature of these loops.
Aspects of Chains and Loops
For instance, the water cycle on Earth involves the physical process of water evaporating from the sea, becoming rain, falling on mountains, flowing into rivers, and eventually returning to the sea. This phenomenon of physical movement chains together, forming a loop.
On the other hand, the daily cycle of day and night, and the annual cycle of the seasons, hold a different meaning from the movement through physical space. Of course, these cycles are caused by the Earth’s rotation and revolution, which are physical loops. However, in a sense different from that physical loop, changes in state are linked and circulate. This is the loop created by chains of state transitions.
Numerous cycles can be observed in the chemical reactions that occur within living organisms. A product of reaction A becomes a material for reaction B, chaining chemical reactions together until reaction A occurs again. This is different from the loops of physical movement and state transition. While involving the physical movement of matter and changes in its state, it’s not the same matter circulating in the loop. Viewing chemical reactions as processes converting inputs to outputs, these processes chain and cycle. In other words, it’s a loop of processes.
Thus, even when generalized as “loops,” chains form loops in various aspects, such as spatial movement, state transition, and processing.
Effect Loops
Sometimes, when a process occurs, it can either promote or inhibit that process itself or other processes. For example, when lighting a candle, the heat melts the solid wax into a liquid, which then evaporates into a gas. This gaseous wax becomes fuel for the flame, promoting combustion. As combustion is promoted, the heat rises and is maintained even if some is dissipated externally. This heat then vaporizes more wax.
Candles are designed to burn steadily, so this loop maintains a consistent cycle. However, if fire spreads to objects not designed in this way, the cycle of heat and the evaporation of combustibles will expand over time.
While there is an aspect of a process loop, it holds more significance due to the self-sustaining cycle that comes with combustion suppression or the self-enhancing cycle. It’s a loop that includes feedback, which, though challenging to express, might be termed an “effect loop.”
What is Effect?
Here, “effect” refers to the influence on matter movement, state transition, and processing. Whether it’s suppression or enhancement, the influence exerted on movement, state transition, and processing is what I refer to as “effect.”
In this effect loop, the various loops previously mentioned influence each other. The movement of matter can affect processing, and a change in state might influence a particular process. The output of one process being used as the input for another process is also considered an influence.
In this way, spatial movement loops, state transition loops, and processing loops can each form their own effect loop. Furthermore, fragmented chains of spatial movement, state transition, and processing that don’t necessarily form loops can combine to shape an effect loop.
Loop of Value and Meaning
When an entity capable of judging value intervenes, a layer of value chains is added.
In this chain of value, from something that is confirmed to have value, everything connected to it can be perceived as having value. Furthermore, when a value loop is formed, even if the connection to what is confirmed to have value is lost, the value circulates within this loop, and that cycle of value can possess the confirmed value.
Such formations of value chains or loops require an entity capable of judging value. This is the mechanism of an organism’s perceptual response.
Moreover, when entities that can give and comprehend meaning to information emerge, layers of meaning chains and meaning loops are added. Chains of meaning can emerge from something confirmed to have meaning, and the circulation of meaning can also confirm meaning.
The ability required to give and handle information with meaning is the mechanism of intelligence with consciousness.
Value and meaning act upon spatial movement, state transition, and processing. Organisms’ perceptual responses move objects towards what is deemed valuable, transition states, and process chemical substances. Humans manipulate these towards what they judge to have meaning, either by protecting or enhancing it.
Abstractly speaking, values and meanings exert effects. Therefore, chains of value and chains of meaning can take on the chains of effects and can be integrated into the formation of effect loops.
Internal and External Loops
Systems, like organisms or intelligences, which sustain or enhance themselves through effect loops, typically have boundaries between their internal and external environments.
One might think that phenomena like life or intelligence are confined within vessels like organisms or intelligences. However, this perspective alone often struggles to explain things like the origin of life or the essence of intelligence.
When viewed from the perspective of effect loops, it becomes evident that life or intelligence cannot sustain or enhance based only on the internal structure or mechanism of its vessel.
While the vessel’s interior undoubtedly has complex systems, without external interactions, neither persistence nor formation can occur. Likely, to understand the origins of life, we need to consider not just the internal vessel but also its external interactions deeply.
In this sense, the viewpoint of loops, various aspects of loops, and the concept of effect loop layers seem crucial.
Also, the idea that the effect loop connects both internal and external aspects introduces discussions on ecosystems formed by groups of organisms or societies built by groups of intelligences. Ecosystems and societies also contain countless effect loops, which are essential for the sustenance and enhancement of individual organisms or intelligences.
Therefore, when considering life or intelligence, we must also focus on ecosystems and societies. Further, when pondering the origins of life, we likely need to consider something akin to ecosystems or societies of chemical substances.
Conclusion: Applying to the Exploration of Life’s Origin
I propose viewing life phenomena from the perspective of process loops. Defining life by the substances that compose it or by functions like self-replication or self-regulation complicates envisioning what chemical evolution looked like before the emergence of DNA or cells.
Bearing this in mind, I emphasize a loop-centric perspective that views both the period before and after the emergence of DNA or cells through a common lens. From this viewpoint, I approach the quest for the origin of life.
In this article, we could organize aspects like spatial movement chains, state transition chains, process chains, value chains, and meaning chains foundational to a loop-centric perspective. From these, we abstracted the layer of effect loops.
Until now, these concepts have only been vaguely distinguished in my mind, but this organization allows for clearer discussions about the facets and layers of loops.
From a foundational standpoint on life phenomena, we must focus on the chemical substances forming organisms and the processes resulting from chemical changes. However, not all process chains necessarily form loops.
On the other hand, focusing on chains of effects reveals that life forms various effect loops, including self-regulation and self-enhancement. Sometimes these are realized through process loops, while other times they arise from intertwined process chains, spatial movements, and state transitions.
In organisms or intelligences that acquire perception or consciousness, value and meaning also join this effect loop.
Moving forward, I wish to think about life phenomena by focusing not just on chains and loops of processes but also on chains and loops of effects. Through this, I believe there’s potential to approach the significant mystery of the DNA formation process.
Reference:
The results of my past personal research on the origin of my life are summarized in the following preprint paper. It outlines the ecosystem structure I envisioned, and the interdisciplinary strategy to unravel the mystery of the origin of life.
