Chapter 3:
The Human Factors

This chapter continues exploring optimization as a fundamental organizing principle of life, emphasizing that humans and other species evolve within strict environmental constraints. It argues that optimization must be viewed holistically, considering interdependent factors such as temperature, atmospheric composition, pressure, and radiation—all of which define the possible range and form of life.

Humans appear to operate under more complex rules due to their greater behavioral and cognitive flexibility, prompting questions about which rules apply uniquely to human beings, both physically and psychologically. The text also touches on the mysterious biological rules influencing species survival—such as mate selection and instinctive avoidance of incest.

It examines biological symmetry, noting that while animals typically exhibit bilateral symmetry for balance and efficient movement, their internal organs are asymmetrical, raising questions about evolutionary design preferences and the apparent absence of “experimentation” with alternative internal configurations. The author proposes that this consistency suggests an intelligent design framework, not necessarily in a theological sense, but as evidence that universal rules of organization exist and persist indefinitely.

The discussion then broadens to blueprints for life, where each biological level depends on the rules and structures of the level below. This leads to speculation about whether rules extend into human creativity—artistic and cultural expression—which might, however, be largely products of chance rather than strict determinism.

In its closing reflections, the text turns outward: contemplating the possibility of alien life, the origin of life on Earth, and whether life elsewhere follows similar rules. It questions the probability of civilizations resembling ours existing in the cosmos and ends with a philosophical musing on the grand purpose of existence—asking why the universe operates through such extraordinary complexity when simpler mechanisms might have sufficed.