“Life” from Lifelessness
A Plausible Hypothesis
This one is long, but…
Author’s Notes:
This is a very old hypothesis I formulated over 60 years ago (I was still a child). I have stuck with it ever since because it works. At least for me it does. It has gone through much evolution as any idea shall. For like species, ideas must evolve or die. This treatise evolved from the very first public debate I ever had (all the data I collected. Just Think about it. This paper was intentionally written without delving too deeply into science journal paper writing since it is written for the General Populace.
This represents an essay I wrote to Matt Slick and Ken Ham when they both challenged me to explain “How can life come from a rock?” My first thought was, Earth is rock. A damned big one, but a rock. And life came to emerge on this rock.
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Let us investigate this phenomena and how it could possibly have happened naturally.
How can LIFE come from that which is literally “lifeless”?
First, I shall need to define what “I” mean, is LIFE?
MY Requirements for Life
After much research in me libraries, I have concluded these, in NO particular order:
• homeostasis – maintains autonomic biological functions;
• organization – cells, organelles, organs, a body;
• metabolism – intake of fuel, fuel delivery system, conversion of fuel into energy, conversion of fuel into building blocks (lipids, etc.);
• growth – self-explanatory; but not all life grows in size once born;
• adaptation – can adapt to a new clime, environment;
• stimuli response – if you do not know this… Then how did you have kids?;
• replication – through the process known as asexual reproduction OR bisexual reproduction.
• But what about trisexual reproduction à la Alien Nation, movie and series?;
• excretion – waste expulsion system;
• Most Important: self-sustaining – can maintain all above without help.
Going by the above, human babies do not qualify as life. Think real hard about this one. Babies are not self-sustaining without help. BUT, I ignore this fact because not all life is born fully capable, fully functional, with full genetic memories within minutes of birth. I have another hypothesis that us Sapiens lost genetic memories transitioning from the Neanders. Thus, as with all Principles held by science, just as with Laws of Civilization and Society, there are exceptions to the “rules”. Think.
How about a joke? Sir Arthur C Clarke once said, paraphrased, “The difference between humans and machines is that humans can be created through unskilled labor.” If memory serves, it was in his Report on Planet Three collection of essays published in 1953(?).
Virtually all eukaryotic life goes through growth stages: infant, juvenile, and adult. Well… I should say “I” define three growth stages. Whether these are “official” or not, I care less. They are official for Me, Myself, and I. Then adult could be subdivided into young, mature, old. In a list:
• infant
• juvenile
• adult
◦ young
◦ mature
◦ old
Plants are the exception. As long as a plant lives, it also grows in size, until it dies or is killed. All other life does NOT continue growing in size once an adult. On to abiogenesis thing. What are the most common elements in ALL of existence?
Most abundant elements in Earth’s (continental) crust
Z Element Symbol Abundance (ppm)
8 oxygen * O 461,000 (46.1%)
14 silicon Si 282,000 (28.2%)
13 aluminium * Al 82,300 (8.23%)
26 iron * Fe 56,300 (5.63%)
20 calcium * Ca 41,500 (4.15%)
11 sodium * Na 23,600 (2.36%)
12 magnesium * Mg 23,300 (2.33%)
19 potassium * K 20,900 (2.09%)
22 titanium Ti 5,650 (0.565%)
1 hydrogen * H 1,400 (0.14%)
15 phosphorus * P 1,050 (0.105%)
25 manganese * Mn 950 (0.095%)
9 fluorine F 585 (0.0585%)
56 barium Ba 425 (0.0425%)
38 strontium Sr 370 (0.037%)
16 sulfur * S 350 (0.035%)
6 carbon * C 200 (0.02%)
Z = shorthand for “Atomic Number”. Also, number of protons. * – required by life.
Ten most common elements in the Milky Way Galaxy
Z Element Mass fraction (ppm)
1 Hydrogen * 739,000
2 Helium 240,000
8 Oxygen * 10,400
6 Carbon * 4600
10 Neon 1340
26 Iron * 1090
7 Nitrogen * 960
14 Silicon 650
12 Magnesium * 580
16 Sulfur * 440
Notice hydrogen and helium comprise literally 98%, leaving only 2% for the other ≈90 elements. Z = shorthand for “Atomic Number”. Also, number of protons. * – required by life as KNOWN.
Top Elements in the Human Body
Element % mass % atoms
Oxygen * 65.0 24.0
Carbon * 18.5 12.0
Hydrogen * 9.5 62.0
Nitrogen * 2.6 1.1
Calcium * 1.3 0.22
Phosphorus * 0.6 0.22
Sulfur 0.3 0.038
Potassium 0.2 0.03
Sodium 0.2 0.037
Chlorine 0.2 0.024
Magnesium 0.1 0.015
.* = Six Essential elements. Then Five Trace elements.
What the 7734 do we use sulfur for? I decided to leave this.
About 98% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements (*-tagged above): oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus.
Only about 1% is comprised of the other five, and only about 1% is composed of all other elements.
All eleven listed above are necessary for life.
The remaining elements are trace elements, of which more than a dozen are thought, on the basis of good evidence, to be necessary for life.
All of the mass of the trace elements put together (≈1.5%) do not add up to the body’s mass of magnesium, the least common of the 11 non-trace elements. From the Great Wiki.
Key Functions of Sulfur in the Body
Obtained from AiseArcher
Protein Synthesis: Sulfur is crucial for the production of amino acids, particularly cysteine and methionine, which are the building blocks of proteins. These proteins are vital for cell structure, function, and repair.
Detoxification: Sulfur plays a significant role in detoxifying harmful substances in the body. It is a component of glutathione, one of the body’s most potent antioxidants, which helps neutralize free radicals and detoxify the liver.
Joint Health: Sulfur is necessary for the synthesis of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine, which are essential for maintaining healthy cartilage and joint function. This makes sulfur important for alleviating symptoms of arthritis and joint pain.
Skin, Hair, and Nail Health: Often referred to as the “beauty mineral,” sulfur contributes to the health and integrity of skin, hair, and nails. It is a component of keratin, the protein that strengthens these tissues, helping to maintain their structure and appearance.
Metabolic Health: Sulfur aids in the metabolism of food and the utilization of carbohydrates to produce energy, ensuring that the body functions efficiently.
Well… Now I know.
What is the most common “COMPOUND” in the Universe?
Remember, a compound is made from two or more elements.
The most common compound is: Water. Dihydrogen monoxide. Hydroxyl acid. H2O. Hmm… THINK…
The most common COMPOUND in the universe is water. And we have known this since the 1960s or 1970s. Maybe as early as the 1950s. A chemical solvent required by all KNOWN Life. Think… This suggests that if conditions are correct, life just may be INEVITABLE. Think Principles of Probability.
My Summation of the Principles of Probability: If conditions are correct, and IT is possible, IT is essentially Inevitable.
Okay. Now that those lists are over, who would agree that ALL the above listed are “lifeless”? However, LIFE on Earth processes most of the elements listed above.
The Principle of Uniformity, simplest stating, “The forces we see working on changing the Earth today are the same forces that have shaped the Earth in the past and shall do so into the foreseeable future.”
What are the most common gaseous compounds emitted by volcanos? Through the Principle of Uniformity, the gaseous compounds we measure from volcanic emissions today were essentially the same gaseous compounds emitted by volcanoes all the way back into the HBAP Hadean Period, and into the Archaean Period. Earth WAS a seething ball of magma then.
Oops. HBAP = Heavy Bombarment Accumulation Period.
Most Common gaseous compounds emitted by Volcanos
THINK Critically about this. It is the volcanism of Earth in the Hadean Period into the Archaean Period that created Earth’s atmosphere and hydrosphere. Of course, the atmosphere evolved to its current stae which us barbarians are destroying with our anthropogenic biosphere modifications. It is also the source of almost all water left on the planet today. Water is dissolved in magma in the form of metallic hydroxyls (mostly FeOH & MgOH). As the magma rises, pressure lessens, allowing all those gases dissolved within to escape until: BOOM! Volcano explosively erupts emitting massive amounts of gases. Basically, Earth Farts. The other form with magma spewing forth, Earth is having the runs. Another Nobel Prize? Earth Gas-X? Earth Imodium?
- water vapor (H2O; ≅ 40-70%)
- carbon dioxide (CO2; ≅ 20-30%)
• Water vapor and carbon dioxide usually combine to be 70-90% of gases emitted by volcanos. Sometimes less, but usually at least 60%. - sulfur, either as
• sulfur dioxide (SO2), or
• hydrogen sulfide (H2S) - diatomic nitrogen (N2)
- argon (Ar)
- helium (He)
- neon (Ne)
- methane (CH4)
- carbon monoxide (CO)
- hydrogen as
• hydrogen chloride (HCl),
• hydrogen fluoride (HF),
• hydrogen bromide (HBr), and/or
• hydrogen cyanide (HCN) - sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
- carbonyl sulfides (OCS; precusor to hydrocarbons and proteins)
- ⇒ organic compounds ⇐
And the 13th compound is “organic? compounds?!!”? Is it any wonder that life formed from the lifeless? Of course being the 13th gaseous compound, those organic compounds only make about 0.00001%, or less. BUT…, when you pump billions of tons of those gases…
Literal summation: Earth Farts. Simmers the results. Life emerged. All Life on Earth was farted into existence. Thanks, mom. 
If you remove water vapor and the inerts from the above list, you are left with gaseous compounds that readily and easily combine with water vapor. As all those gases mix in the tumultuous atmosphere, perhaps also with gigajoules of static electrical potential energy, and volcanic particulates, guess what happens? You end up with a plethora of acids dissolved into the water vapor: carbonic acid, nitric acid, cyanic acid, sulfuric acid, etc. AND the volcanic particulates are the perfect “seeds” for rain drops to form. Think. However, carbonic acid would account for nearly 90% of all the acids. That is the way it goes with acids: weakest will be the most plentiful while the stronger acids are more scarce and break down more easily and rapidly. Table below matches the gas with acid(s) formed when combined with water vapor.
Volcanic Gas + H2O → Acid
carbon dioxide → carbonic acid
sulfur dioxide → sulfuric acid
hydrogen sulfide → sulfuric acid
nitrogen → nitric acid
methane → carbonic and cyanic acids
carbon monoxide → carbonic acid
hydrogen chloride → hydrochloric acid
hydrogen fluoride → hydrofluoric acid
hydrogen bromide → hydrobromic acid
hydrogen cyanide → isocyanic acid
sulfur hexafluoride → sulfuric and hydrofluoric acids
carbonyl sulfides → carbonic and sulfuric acids; also precursers to organic compounds
organic compounds → precursers to RNA, DNA, cells, bodies
Basically, the “acid rain” of today is NOTHING compared to the acid rain 3.9Ga BP. Give or take. And when that acid rain hits the surface, guess what happens? It SHALL dissolve other minerals and metals and compounds into the already highly acidic water. Mostly carbonated water. Sound familiar? Read the label of your next Pepsi, preferably Cherry.
Eventually, what happens if enough acidic water falls on a molten ball of magma with an eggshell thin crust? Lots of water returned to the atmosphere as steam (water vapor), making the acidic water that does basin on the surface even more acidic. Think…
The Basins
Simply put with least verbosity, a basin is: “Regardless of size and volume, where water pools.”
I cannot put basins any simpler. Now, Think…
As the acid water flows across the surface, it will dissolve even more minerals and metals and compounds. 7734, water alone dissolves many elements and compounds, and suspends them in situ. Throw all that together in a warmed pot of water. Simmer, and what will you get? Molecular Complexification. I have seen some now days refer to this as a form of “chemical evolution”. IOW, the primordial soup in a warmed basin is basically a “soup pot” set to Simmer.
The surface may have been egg-shell thin compared to the Earth of today, but still thick compared to us humans. I’d wager the temperature on the surface would still be warm enough to almost melt shoe soles. But not so hot as to boil all water away. Thus, any basin would LITERALLY become a simmering soup pot. Think…
Again, eventually, all those acids, minerals, metals, compounds, in that “primordial soup” can begin freely mixing in a basin of water. As the way I put it, the elements and compounds can begin molecular complexification. Then used 11 years later in the debate this treatise evolved from. Molecules becoming more complex. But what do they need most to complexify? ENERGY. What all is in that soup? It is all listed above… Elements necessary for life today. Perhaps not all were used for the actual Inceptive Emergence of First Life.
Now imagine the compounds that are also in that primordial soup. As the water accumulates and steams off and heat cooks all that soup, molecules will complexify. We have seen it in experiments. Of course, with just Heat, the molecules complexify at a very slow rate. The Miller-Urey experiment used a primordial atmosphere of methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), and hydrogen (H2), in ratio of 2:2:1, respectively. They did use water warmed in the experiment to provide humidity, and did get some organic molecules. Their experiment used electricity as the primary constituent of “input energy” that may have led to the formation of organic compounds. However, Miller was wrong.
Thus, how long did it take for molecules to complexify to a point of self-replication? If that can be answered… We have evidence of Life going back 3.8±0.1Ga BP. Recently, some evidence may have been found going back 4.1±0.1Ga BP. It is still being Peer Reviewed. If true, then that means Earth had water in basins when less than 500Ma old. The 3.8 Earth was only 800Ma old. NOT even a billion years old, Earth had water. Earth had Life. Just that Life squalored in microbial form for 3±Ga before conditions were right for diversification.
I recently bought a person’s Library of about five walls of books, and many boxes of notebooks. The ONLY name I will give is: Arakish. He passed away a few years ago, but I still honor the FACT he was under WITSEC protection. Many of those hand-written notebooks dating back to 1941 (he was born 05 Dec 1933). In a notebook dated 1954, just two years after the Miller experiment, he wrote:
“I think Miller-Urey were wrong in their experiment about a primordial Earth. Their major source of “input energy” was electricity. The only problem I have with electricity is that it literally burns molecules apart. ESPECIALLY, organic molecules. Even in low VAmp current, electricity burns organics. And you CANNOT get life from the stuff you are burning. Although they did produce some organic compounds, they were not compounds that would create Life (imho). Instead, if they looked at those organic compounds more intensely, I guarantee all they would have found were BURNT organic compounds. Thus, I feel it was the HEAT radiating more slowly from Earth’s interior that literally cooked the lifeless into Life, using the most common compound in the universe: Water.”
imho = his version of In My Honest Opinion. Today it is written IMHO.
Being raised on a farm and horse ranch, where did this guy get his information?
In another notebook dated 1956, he wrote:
“I still think electricity is the WRONG form of input energy. Electricity flows through molecules (electron shells) instead of flowing into molecules (nucleus). As the nucleus increases in energy potential, it will be shed into the electron shells. HEAT, being much less intense and sudden, being a much slower AND steadier AND more reliable form of input energy, would result in the complexification of molecules. Electricity tending to flow through molecules will only tend to tear molecules apart. Really think about this. Yes, there was probably Terajoules of static energy in that toxic, miasmic atmosphere. Lightning bolts today can generate upwards of 1-3 Gigajoules of energy. That is FAR! too much energy input in FAR! too short of time. The lightning bolt (Miller’s electricity) would have literally burned every last molecule in those very small basins of Primordial Soup. The Earth was much too warm to allow water to accumulate into very large basins (seas, oceans) at that time, some 3.9Ga ago. When Earth was only about 600-700Ma old.
“Thus, it is MY hypothesis that it was actually HEAT from the Earth that literally “cooked” life into existence from the lifeless. The slower, steadier; THUS, more reliable, form of input energy was Heat. Infrared Radiation. Molecules could easily complexify. Electricity, even in very low VAmp current would only produce burnt organic compounds, but never Life. Thus, they were wrong about Frankenstein.”
Arakish wrote that probably longer ago than many whom may read THIS treatise I am writing and editing. His “Molecular Complexification” idea was phenomenal. He literally described what is kind-of known today as “Chemical Evolution”. I have since donated his notebooks to local university after redaction. Let them preserve that stuff.
As those molecules mix in those small basins of Primordial Soup, they form into more complex molecules. In accordance with our current Knowledge Base, we think the first self-replicating molecule was similar to RNA. It may not have been actual RNA as we know today, but similar enough. Think about this. As the molecules complexify, more complexification will occur.
There is one FACT (Formal Accurately Codified Truth, Arakish) one must always remember about self-replication. This is nothing more than making a copy of IT, the Original. That copy makes a copy. Ad infinitum. You can see the same phenomenon using photocopies. As you keep photocopying each subsequent photocopy, eventually, the photocopies look crappy. Look so bad you’d rather burn them. Self-replication (cellular mitosis), produces the same phenomenon. Copies are never EXACTLY the same. Yes, there is the 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001% probability chance (probably severely overestimated) an exact copy is made does exists. It is that imperfection of copying why all life ages and dies. Cellular Mitosis is NEVER perfect.
If you include abiogenesis, the science of the Emergence/Formation of Life, that also seems an inevitability, given the correct conditions. After all, WATER is the most common compound throughout the universe. THINK…
OK, much eventually later, RNA becomes DNA through molecular attraction to another copy, copied a million times over, join together. Boom. DNA. DNA conglomerates/accumulates into a nucloid clump. Then even some more eventually produces a cell. Prokaryotic Life. Simplest form of Life ever.
I have heard this question so often from theists: “If life evolves from simple to complex forms, why are simple forms still around?”
Remember that statement attributed to Darwin? “Survival of the fittest.”? Well… The simplest life forms ARE the fittest to survive. Look at the lowly cockroach.
• some species can survive up to five days decapitated.
• some species can withstand up to 20 times the radiation as humans with no ill effects.
• some species can survive up to 30 days without water if has food.
• some species can survive up to 6 months without food if has water.
• A female cockroach, once impregnated, is always pregnant.
Remember one FACT: The more complex a life form, the easier it is to kill it. Think… Basically, the more complex you make a life form, the easier it is to kill that life form. Way too much complexity that even the tiniest screw-up can kill.
BTW: I am using “eventually” in the meaning of “change over time”. Also meaning, Loonngg… periods of time.
More eventually, a larger prokaryote enveloped a smaller prokaryote with the intention to eat it. Once, something went differently. Instead of consumption, the larger enslaved the smaller into being an Energy Factory for the larger. Boom. Mitochondrial Eukaryotic Life. MEL. And ain’t she so sweet?
Still more eventually, the eukaryotes invent the greatest invention ANY life could create. Bisexual Reproduction.
Without refute, the single most greatest invention of Life is “Bisexual Reproduction”. The mixing of TWO genetic sources, instead of copying one. Once that happened, Life diversified with a vengeance. Evolution, finally had the tool needed to create the “Diversification of Life”. Bisexual Reproduction. THAT is what drives the Theory of Evolution through the Process of Natural Selection combined with the ICIDIC. THINK… With us humans, it is simply two different genetic sources attracting each other to replicate. A scientifically simple True Truth. Emotionally, it sucks. But is True.
ICIDIC = Infinite Complexity from Infinite Diversity through Infinite Combinations. Yes, I stole this from Star Trek and the Vulcan IDIC.
We now have Life. But when does the Diversification of Life begin?
The best answer I hypothesize is when the Earth became differentiated enough to produce a powerful enough GMF (Geo-Magnetic Field) so as to block enough insolation. It took Earth about 3Ga, give or take, to differentiate enough to produce its current SIC and LOC geomagnetic dynamo, and generate a powerful enough GMF. Life did not begin diversifying until about 800Ma ago, after Earth was about 3.8Ga old. However, Life could possibly have begun Diversification as far as 1.5±0.1Ga BP (wild guess on my part). Just no fossils to find since they are gone into the geomorphological anals of Earth’s history. SIC = Solid Inner Core. LOC = Liquid Outer Core.
What is called the Cambrian Explosion is no “explosion” at all. The “diversification of life” followed a curve similar to the exponential growth curve. As more and more Speciation occurred, more and more Speciation shall occur. Very similar to an exponential curve. The more IT, the faster IT increases.
What we call the Cambrian Explosion is simply when life was complexified enough to produce millions of remains that could be fossilized, and found before Earth’s geomorphology destroyed them. I guarantee there are many, many, … many other species before this supposed “explosion” that probably did not have enough complexity to leave fossils. Think…
And truly THINK Critically about this. There are fossils we shall NEVER discover. There could be a fossil in the ocean floor sediment about to be swallowed by the subduction at Challenger Deep. There are countless (except Number Theory) other fossils that have been destroyed by the Earth’s continuing geologic activity. Those great basaltic provinces destroyed perhaps millions, if not billions, dare I say trillions of fossils. There are already billions and trillions and quadrillions of fossils that have been utterly destroyed. Thus, we never find.
And how many have been washed to the oceans in all those Ma? Making discovery even more difficult. Not impossible, but very highly improbable.
Something funny: Did you know that it was the anus that developed first? Ever since, all life has been arseholes.
The GMF will deflect/absorb much, but not all, incoming solar radiation (insolation). The GMF allows life to diversify due to a lessened Insolated environment. Life started in water because the atmosphere did NOT block enough Insolation, thus life squalored in the microbial state, shielded by the water for 3Ga give or take. Even the water could not filter enough Insolation for Life to diversify. Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic life existed together, but they could not diversify beyond single-celled organisms. Any land would have been literally scorched. Irradiated.
Some of my data may be outdated, but still correct. As a scientist, I SHALL tell you to NOT believe my Brain Diarrhea. Do some True Research.
“Science is the only religion for Humanity.” — Sir Arthur C Clarke, Scientist and Engineer, helped invent RADAR, Thought-Father of modern day satellite communications.
“O! god. We’re in the hands of engineers.” — Dr. Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park.
Addenda: Found it. This guy’s father would take him to the nearby public library and the local university library every Sunday. This guy even used his lawn-mowing money to purchase textbooks from the university bookstore. Imagine being a worker in a college bookstore with a child coming in and purchasing advanced “science” and “mathematics” textbooks of all sorts. That would definitely be a “WT7734?” moment.
However, since I am an “atheist”, you cannot trust anything I say/write since everything I say/write is a lie… Just ask any theist.
Franklin
