Researchers have hypothesized that the Earth is an intelligent being
They published their new study "Intelligence as a Planetary Scale Process" in the International Journal of Astrobiology.
Adam Frank, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester, was one of the team of researchers that worked on this study.
David Grinspoon and Sara Walker joined Frank to help propagate the proceeding.
IN SPACE - SEPTEMBER 17: In this handout photo provided by NASA, This view of the International Space Station over a blue and white Earth was taken shortly after the Space Shuttle Atlantis undocked from the orbital outpost at 7:50 a.m. CDT. The unlinking completed six days, two hours and two minutes of joint operations with the station crew. Atlantis left the station with a new, second pair of 240-foot solar wings, attached to a new 17.5-ton section of truss with batteries, electronics and a giant rotating joint. The new solar arrays eventually will double the station's onboard power when their electrical systems are brought online during the next shuttle flight, planned for launch in December.
Earth is an Intelligent Being, Scientists Say
According to scientists, the Earth could be an intelligent being. The scientists indicated that our planet may have comparable personality features to other living, sentient organisms.
In other words, the planet may share mechanisms similar to those seen in biological organisms.
Indy 100 said the study mentioned the Gaia theory. The idea contends that the Earth has learned to maintain itself by linking the biosphere's non-living air, water, and land systems.
According to a news statement released by Cambridge University Press, the researchers described modern civilisation as an 'immature technosphere.'
The term refers to the collection of human-made systems and technology that directly impacts the environment but is not self-sustaining.
For example, the vast bulk of human energy use is based on fossil fuels, which harm the Earth's seas and atmosphere.
The technology and energy people use to stay alive are harming the home planet, ultimately leading to species extinction.
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Billions of years ago, the biosphere devised a way to support life on its own by devising mechanisms for moving nitrogen and carrying carbon. Frank added per Unilad that they now have to figure out how to give the technosphere the same self-maintaining properties,
Steps of Planetary Intelligence
According to the researchers, planets go through immature and mature stages. But they said planetary intelligence is a good indicator of when one has arrived at a mature world.
The research seeks to split the Earth's history into four stages, the third of which is its position as an "immature technosphere," to better explain the concept of planetary intelligence. The Gal Times said any planet in the cosmos that has produced life and a technological civilization might use this pattern.
Stage 1 - Immature Biosphere
Characteristic of the early Earth stages, billions of years ago and before the birth of a technological species, when bacteria existed, but plants had not yet evolved. There was little global feedback since life couldn't exert forces on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, or other planetary systems.
Stage 2 - Mature Biosphere
Characteristics of the Earth before the birth of a technological species 2.5 billion years ago. This is where the formation of stable continents, flora and photosynthesis development, the accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere, and the appearance of the ozone layer happen. The biosphere has had a significant impact on the Earth, potentially contributing to its continued habitability.
Stage 3 - Immature Technosphere
Characteristic of today's Earth, with networked communication, transportation, technology, power, and computer systems. However, the technosphere is still immature because it is not connected with other Earth systems, such as the atmosphere. Instead, it extracts matter and energy from Earth's processes to develop the entire system into a new state that would most likely exclude the technosphere. At the moment, our technosphere is working against itself.
Stage 4 - Mature Technosphere
This is where the Earth should be in the future, with scientific systems in place that help the entire world, such as global energy harvesting in environmentally-friendly forms such as solar energy. It's the biosphere The mature technosphere has grown in tandem with the biosphere to a state that permits both the technosphere and the biosphere to thrive at the same time.
Because nobody knows how to get to a mature technosphere yet, the million-dollar question, according to experts, is figuring out what planetary intelligence looks like and means for the rest of the world.
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