Sunday, October 09, 2005

Creation of Life

Why did life start only on the planet Earth? Is it related to its distance from the Sun?
If it was so, then there should have been life on Moon too. The Moon is supposed to have been originated from a collision between a semi-molten Earth and another large heavenly body. In that case, it must have been part of the Earth, billions of years ago. If there was there anything in the Earth's crust that facilitated creation of life, then why did the Moon get left out? Why did it go through a much different evolutionary path? One possibility is that life came to Earth through an external medium. Like a meteorite. Even though it sounds exciting, I find it to be an incredulous theory. It would have been far more believable if the Moon had vast amounts of water like Earth. According to me, it was the Earth's atmosphere and hydrosphere that "created life". Because logically, the moon must have had the same lithosphere (rocks etc). But then, what created the atmosphere and hydrosphere? Probably, the atmosphere was not created from the earth's crust. So, it all gets very confusing in the end. Can somebody throw a light?

1 comment:

Sayandeb said...

Well, thousands of scholars have pondered and investigated this miracle ever since it was performed. Billions others like me and you have wondered, discussed and have written about it. Yet there's no clear answer.

It is good in a way - you can trust man to simulate it in a controlled environment and attempt a coup on nature itself.

Leave alone creation of the first life form on earth. That was a time when intelligent scientists and super intelligent computers did not exist. Think of today - even when a mother concieves a child right under the noses of doctors, can they really put their finger on what really sparked the life?

Well I guess it is not meant to be known! And that brings me to "I don't know" which is a state that can come from exasperation which is destined to turn into wonder. This wonder in the miracle of nature invokes humility in one's heart and a deep gratitude. We can live, and live well with that!

Another thought that pervades my mind often is are we qualified enough to pursue this quest? It becomes more tangible when you realise the possibilty that life came from outer space. How much of it do we know?

How much of it can we possibly get to know? Not only in terms of size and movements of planetary bodies, but also about the intelligence that co-ordinates all that. How advanced or retarded is it compared to us? Where does it reside? Ancient sages in our country had an answer - "Brahma." In a nutshell, the largest systems and the smallest ones are identical - the mind that we carry is similar to the one carried by the Universe - but much much larger. The collective conscienceness.

But my friend, all that is another subject altogether - another time!