'lectrons R n00bs

Just for fun, let's suspend the words God, soul, spirit, and not talk about magic of any form whatsoever. Let's assume for a moment that cause gives way to effect and that any time something in the universe changes, there is a reason. There are clearly numerous facts about existence that remain unknown, and many effects for which the cause is unclear. Life it would seem, is one of these occluded effects.

Without using any mystical words or concepts, let's see what we can do with the good 'ol Meaning of Life. Oh, no love either. Love is real and love is good, but let's leave it alone, just for now.

Biologists have certain parameters for what they consider to be a living thing, and while one should respect the diligent work that went into forming this list of requirements, a simpler definition might suffice. Life, perhaps, is any object or energy that reacts to information. From the simplest virus to the warring nations of man, anything that lives must in some way detect and react to it's environment. There are of course machines that are capable in some sense of informed interaction, but in many ways these constructs can be considered extensions of the creatures that built them.

The great majority of matter and energy in existence seems to adhere strictly to predictable and mathematical principles and the study of these principles is of course known as physics. Let's envision for a moment a circular room. This room is empty except for a pedestal and on the pedestal there is a big round button. A ceiling light might also be nice, so let's envision one of those too. If one were to introduce into this room a moving ball, it would be a matter of physics to tell if and when the ball might strike the button, setting off let's say, some confetti and noise makers, and maybe a disco ball. Introduce into that same room a human being, and physics alone cannot tell us if or when said human might push the happy shiny button, the jolly candy-like button.

Psychology could perhaps shed some light on an individual's tendencies and, given access to every possible detail about the subject's mind, perhaps even tell us the exact nanosecond when the button would get pressed. Psychology however, is not the study of strictly physical or mathematical principles. Even assuming that the mind is contained wholly in the realm of matter and energy, it deals with information. Much like the words in a book, the mind has a measurable physical shape and a much less measurable informational value as well.

Whether or not psychology could accurately predict the outcome of the button experiment is beside the point. What is important is that a living object is subject not only to the forces of the physical realm that it inhabits, but also to the force of the various information that it receives. If there were no life in the universe and a physicist, who is for some reason mucking about outside the universe, had access to all of the factors involved, it would be possible to predict the movements and reactions of every last bit of matter and energy in existence. Since however, there is life, the equation could never be perfect without understanding all of the information ever gained and it's physical results.

Physicists describe four separate forces as being able to effect matter and energy. These are listed as the strong and the weak nuclear forces, the electromagnetic force, and the force of gravity. While these are predictable and mathematical principles, it would seem that the list is incomplete without also considering the force of consciousness. The tip of a paintbrush is very much affected by the four physical forces of the universe, and it is also directly affected by the ideas in the mind of it's welder. This 'Life Force' cannot be expressed without the living, but without electrons there would be no electromagnetic force either.

Perhaps then, it would be reasonable to state that the meaning of life is to cause matter and energy to bow to the force of consciousness. To accomplish this a living thing should gather and express as much information as possible, try to manipulate the physical realm and generally be a nuisance to the other four forces. Also, it would be helpful to create and bolster other living things wherever possible. After all, electrons are pretty cool, but we're livitons, and livitons are the greatest.