Bacteria

God is a bug

In the process of trying to ascertain how many animals there are total on earth (not species), I found myself asking are bacteria animals, and if so, is it even possible to guess how many of those there are. More simply, how may bacteria are there in our bodies? While looking around the internet for bacteria, so to speak, I came across this passage:

Pretty far outside mainstreamscience, biologist Rupert Sheldrake, and physicist Amit Goswami also accept consciousness in matter. Somewhere in between the far-out andthe mainstream, the increasingly acceptable parapsychologists like DeanRadin and Charles Tart also accept consciousness in matter, using explanations remarkably similar to Sri Aurobindo: psychokinesis (mindover matter), which has been proven in extremely rigorous scientific studies and well replicated, would not be possible if there was not a consciousness in matter which responds to the mind of the individual attempting to affect that matter. So in regard to bacteria: it is not entirely unacceptable among mainstream scientists to speak ofconsciousness in bacteria. However, Lynn Margulis, the world's leadingexpert on bacteria - speaks often of an extraordinary intelligenceworking in bacteria. This is certainly not a conscious intelligence, right? So what is the source of this intelligence? There doesn't seem to be an answer in the current scientific framework - even within quantum physics or parapsychology.

Wow. All matter has consciousness, they say? Does energy, a form of matter? So, to answer my question of how many life forms there are, I guess all matter is alive. Catholic "mass" is dealing with "matters" of grave living importance. We're all part of one big life form, througout the entire universe. Like bacteria in our gut, we're part of the larger human "organism," which in turn is part of the animal kingdom, which is part of all matter. Everything matters. It's all connected to you. The brain has more neural circuits than the number of atoms in the (known) universe, so maybe you have quiet a bit of potential to change things (for better or workse).

To answer my above question, there are 1,000 Trillion (1 quadrillion) bacteria in each of our bodies, some of which perform beneficial tasks, and the majority of which perform no harmful or beneficial effect. We are each a zoo! Actually, bacteria may be organisms, but they're not technically animals.

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Eukaryotic means having cells organized into complex structures enclosed within membranes. The defining membrane-bound structure which differentiates eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus. The presence of a nucleus gives these organisms their name, which comes from the Greek ευ, meaning "good/true", and κάρυον, "nut". Truly nuts.

An organism (from "organ, instrument, tool") is an individual living system (such as animal, plant, fungus or micro-organism). In at least some form, all organisms are capable of reacting to stimuli, reproduction, growth and maintenance as a stable whole). An organism may be unicellular or made up, like humans, of many billions of cells divided into specialized tissues and organs. How many cells are in a human body? It depends on your size, of course. Some sources say the average adult human body is made up of "50 million million" (50 trillion) cells, while others put the figure closer to 10 trillion. Science NetLinks, a resource for science teachers, stated that there are approximately "ten to the 14th power" (that's 100 trillion) cells in the human body. Estimates vary by an order of magnitude (10x difference). Then again, some people are 10x bigger than others. Forget cells, though. Each atom has consciousness.

I wonder if all this differentiation of kinds of organism even matters. Apparently, everything has consciousness (?), even the "dead" stuff. In that case, will I be happier once I'm dead cremated or coffined? Burning hurts! Hell is defined as fiery. I suppose I should choose coffination. All the Popes are, I think. Then again, they say it's better to burn out than fade away.

So what's life, then?
Wikipedia explains the 7 characteristics of Life, in the standard definition, and then goes on to say it has problems. The 7 characteristics are (homgarr): homeostasis, organization, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimulii, and reproduction. Proposed corrective definitions of life include:

1. Living things are systems that tend to respond to changes in their environment, and inside themselves, in such a way as to promote their own continuation.

2. Life is a characteristic of self-organizing, self-recycling systems consisting of populations of replicators that are capable of mutation, around most of which homeostatic, metabolizing organisms evolve. (This above definition includes worker caste ants, viruses and mules while precluding flames. It also explains why bees can be alive and yet commit suicide in defending their hive). Recycling, homeostatic, metabolizing replicators? Science sure can be stupid. Stop talking gibberish, you morons! Humans commit suicide defending their countries, in a way.

Definition 1 is pretty simple, and I'll stick with it. Why would matter have consciousness, though, if not for some purpose? What is consciousness, sentience, self-awareness? I AM is God. No wonder Jesuits and Sufis see god in everything.