The cosmic odyssey of matter describes a literal spatial journey that started with the big bang and continues through to the current state of the observed universe. Throughout this extended odyssey, particles of matter have wandered, gathered, and then connected, thereby assembling new formations of matter. This wander-gather-assemble (WGA) pattern broadly repeats across four stages in the universe’s timeline: the big bang, stars, biospheres, and social organizations. The essential step in the WGA process is the assembly of precise formations of matter (PFMs), defined here as formations having precise configurations and precisely connected components. Over 13.8 billion years the systematic WGA process has assembled a progression of PFMs, from protons and neutrons, to chemical elements and compounds—and on Earth—organisms and social organizations. Thus, this essay identifies a basic property of ordinary matter (precision), and a long-term process (assembling), which together establish a fundamental relationship between the first particles to emerge from the big bang, the evolution of living organisms, and the emergence of the modern human world. In doing so, this essay attempts to provide additional context to humanity’s place in the cosmos.
Edward Kneller