Metaverse of Mind: The Cosmic Social Network
Description:
Review\nEverything Is Mind: Exploring the Many Forms of Intelligence in the Universe
By Cynthia Conrad|July 8th, 2022, Book Trib\nThe cosmos is a network of networks, and everything that exists in it has some form of intelligence that is part of a larger "mind." That's the main premise of Metaverse of Mind: The Cosmic Social Network (BlackBox) by interdisciplinary thinker R.A. Varghese. Within its pages lies a well-constructed series of arguments, clearly laid out and full of delightfully creative — and even poetic — writing.
Varghese takes us on a journey through time, life and matter to show how denizens of the "mindfield" evolved from the dawn of the cosmos to today through what can be seen as a series of upgrades in cognition, each building on the other until we reached the variety and complexity of forms we see today — including humans. We begin with the mathematically structured world of energy and matter (Mind 1) and proceed through four more "domains of mind," with each domain more complex in function than the one before it. These domains are further broken down into various "kingdoms" of mind types, which in turn contain "agents" that manifest these mind types.
At the lowest rung, these "agents" begin as energy and the building blocks of matter, followed by microbes; plants; insects and reptiles; aquatic and aviatic species; mammals; and finally, humans. The more complex the domain of mind, the more "powers" these agents possess. But even in the lowest domain of mind (Mind 1), there is a kind of intelligence that enables its agents to process information; create effects; move toward goals; adapt to environments; and interact and share information with other agents.
This last characteristic is key to Varghese's approach — that all energy, matter and life are part of a "cosmic social network" made up of platforms specific to the type of minds that use them. This is the "glue" that holds all of these manifestations of mind together in a "network of networks." For these, he draws comparisons between the interactions of entities and types of digital networks, social or otherwise, that we are familiar with.
Believe me, this will all make perfect sense once you've seen how Varghese stitches it together. You'll never see the world the same way again. And if this isn't enough to fill your own mind to the brim, Varghese also explores the implications of such a philo-scientific structure on the tenets of religion, including Creationism, the concepts of God and the Divine, and more.
It's hard to say what is more remarkable — the fact that elements of Varghese's theses are not unique to him (he provides ample supporting examples of thought from philosophers, scientists and mathematicians) ... or the fact that Varghese has created a system for understanding how these ideas all relate in a larger context.
Much more information than I can go into here is available on the MetaverseOfMind website, but it is the book itself that does the best job of explaining it all clearly and fully. Armchair philosophers and general-market science readers alike will find Metaverse of Mind an accessible exploration of the nature of existence, from a vantage point that sits at the enlightening intersection of science, philosophy and religion.\nEverything that exists - atoms and cells, energy fields and ecosystems - is constantly processing information. Everything - photons and planets, microbes and mammals - is constantly moving to a goal, advancing from one state to another. Everything - from particles to butterflies - is constantly causing effects in its environment. Everything is mind.\nMind, like life, has its own domains and kingdoms - from the mind-cloud that is matter to mind-bots, mind-pods, et al. We live in a metaverse of mind. This is the message of modern science.\nReviews of Varghese's previous books on the Metaverse of Mind
"Varghese explores the basic and critical questions we face concerning this remarkable and wond