Legacy: Mind, Meaning and the Freedom to Choose #51 #cong24 #legacy

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1. Uncertainty is the only certainty there is.
2. Every single thing in the entire universe including your own existence is a product of this uncertainty.
3. This is why the most random experiences can re-route your future including your legacy in an instant.
4. Your primary duty is to yourself, and that duty is to make your own meaning.

William (Billy) T. O’Connor is Foundation Professor and Director of Teaching and Research in Physiology at the University of Limerick School of Medicine, Ireland. He also holds a position as Visiting Research Scholar at Flinders Medical School in Adelaide, South Australia.

You can connect with William via LinkedIn or see his work on Inside the Brain.

By William O’Connor

Two fundamental laws govern our reality and they both describe the nature of energy as it relates to our Universe. The First Law of Thermodynamics, sometimes called the Law of Energy Conservation, tells us that energy cannot be created or destroyed – only transformed. For instance, the burning of coal transforms its chemical energy into light and heat energy. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, however, governs the direction of these transformations, introducing the concept of entropy (uncertainty and disorder) and tells us that it constantly increases. For instance, the burning coal disperses the ordered molecules in (solid) coal into a more disorganized state found in the smoke (gas). These two laws, shaping the flow and transformation of energy, set the stage for everything we experience in the physical world.

The second law of thermodynamics is such a breathtakingly profound insight, and its understanding is the greatest achievement of the human mind. If there is one testable truth that explains the behaviour of the physical world – what we call reality- it is this law. This single principle doesn’t just apply to burning coal or dispersing gases; it shapes the unfolding of everything, from the stars in distant galaxies to the fragile balance of life on Earth, and to the personal identity that makes you, you.

Simply put, the second law of thermodynamics is a law of nature telling us that in our Universe, uncertainty and disorder can only increase and can never decrease. In everyday life, this explains why you have no idea what the future holds for you, and why the most random experiences can re-route your future including your legacy in an instant.

The second law of thermodynamics explains the origins of reality by tracing a path from the moment of the big bang. From that initial explosion emerged primordial matter in the form of hydrogen. Gravity then coalesced hydrogen into stars to randomly generate the heavier elements like carbon, oxygen and iron through nuclear fusion, and how the energy released by that process sustains life here on Earth.

Unlike cultural, political, and religious beliefs, a belief in the second law of thermodynamics costs you nothing and does not require your loyalty. It simply is. No other philosophical belief rests upon such a verifiable, fundamental truth. According to this law there IS life after death, but not in the way we might traditionally imagine. It’s not the persistence of “me” or personal consciousness. Instead, it’s the infinite life force found in the recycling of the building blocks that make life, and that make you.

The probability that you came to exist at all is testament to the power of this uncertainty – the power of possibility. You are the product of the fusion of just one of twelve trillion sperm cells created by your father with just one of 100,000 egg cells created by your mother, which made the fertilized egg that came to make you. The odds of this precise union, the one that led to you, are roughly 1 in 400 quadrillion. To put it another way, imagine winning the lottery against truly astronomical odds. While the chance of any one person winning is minuscule, someone eventually wins. And in the grand lottery of life, that someone, against all odds, happened to be you on the day you were conceived. Now that’s an achievement worth celebrating.

You and all other life in the entire Universe are a product of this fundamental uncertainty. From a purely human perspective, our understanding of nature tells us that existence is devoid of inherent meaning and there is no point to it. Therefore, it falls upon each individual to forge their own purpose, and to create meaning amidst the chaos. It is up to each individual to make their own meaning. Consider the brevity of your individual impact: You emerge from an anonymous stream of humanity, shaped by a handful of recent ancestors—your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. You, in turn, shape a few generations of your own descendants and then your contribution dissolves back into an anonymous stream of humanity. The only life lived is remembered in the here-and-now. The rest is lost in the wind.

The second law of thermodynamics tells us that there is no pre-ordained meaning woven into the fabric of the universe. However, while there are some things you cannot avoid such as school and taxes you are largely free to chart your own course Your purpose can be whatever you want it to be and is yours to define. Just as boundless number of possibilities converged to bring you into existence, there are countless number of things for you to do while you are figuring that out.

You only live once, and your life is random and transient. A chance meeting leads you to your profession and the places you visit. That same randomness decides the people you meet including your life-partner. The irony is that you may regard this randomness as stressful – as a stone in your shoe never knowing what is going to pop up, when the secret is that embracing and surfing this wave of randomness is what makes your life what it is. Mental health is being curious and open to new experiences. When you embrace life’s uncertainty then countless possibilities open in your life. The same random possibly than generated you in the first place. Accepting this reality frees your mind and lets your spirit soar.

You have no idea what your future holds and even the most random events can re-route your future in an instant. Despite what society, including organised religion, may claim, our universe offers no inherent meaning. Only when you grasp this truth and seize control of your destiny can you truly examine the societal meanings imprinted upon you since childhood – meanings shaped by language, culture, and creed. These are the rules that are meant to be broken. Forge your own path. Define your own purpose. Let this be your legacy.

Once you grasp the profound truth that your life, and indeed the entire universe, is devoid of inherent meaning then a subtle shift occurs in the mind that truly seals your fate. The understanding that your legacy is the freedom to harness your imagination and passion to create your own meaning and chart your own course in life. To create a self-forged purpose to guide you as you make authentic choices in the pursuit of your own truth, and there can be no judgement.