Frank White - The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect

THE
COSMA
HYPOTHESIS

Implications of the Overview Effect

FRANK WHITE

Copyright, Frank White, 2018, All Rights Reserved

Dedicated to the Harvard-Radcliffe
Class of 1966

CONTENTS

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FOREWORD TO THE FIRST EDITION

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IF IT IS TRUE that you can tell the depth of a person based on the quality of the questions they ask, then it must also be the case that we can measure the depth of humanity by a similar method. While fundamental questions such as Where did we come from? and Are we alone? have been perpetual amongst the curious and intellectual, contemplating the nature and purpose of the cosmos has perhaps been asked less frequently. Frank White, a Harvard-educated Rhodes Scholar, space philosopher, and thought leader, has been asking profound questions his entire career. In his widely read and often-cited book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, Frank asked, Do astronauts experience shifts in worldview and perspective when they see the Earth from a distance? If so, what are the implications for life on Earth and in space settlements? Using interviews with astronauts, Frank made a powerful argument that the Overview Effect is a reality. When that question was asked in the 1980s, it was provocative. In 2018, it is taken by most to be common sense and the term Overview Effect has become widely used.

In The Cosma Hypothesis: Implications of the Overview Effect, Frank returns to his astronaut interviews to ask an even more fundamental question. Is the universe (or Cosma) evolving in a purposeful direction? If so, how does humanity tie into that purpose? Frank does a brilliant job of describing and supporting his notion that the Cosma is best seen as an information processing system comprised of information processing subsystems, and as such, is becoming more alive, intelligent and self-aware over time. If that is true, then it follows that self-aware components of Cosma have the distinct purpose of creating more self-awareness in parts of the Cosma currently dormant. This is the core of the Cosma Hypothesis.

In The Cosma Hypothesis, Frank extends and expands his thought leadership on human consciousness, on the nature of overview systems (and how they may scale), and on the fundamental questions for our species and for Cosma. From there, he goes on to give a robust description of his thoughts on the Human Space Program, a comprehensive and holistic roadmap for exploring and settling the solar system based on the Cosma Hypothesis. The program describes how humanity can both prepare for going to the stars but also how that expansion can befit the universe as well as humanity, taking place with a maximum chance for success and impact.

The Cosma Hypothesis is a book for many types of readers. Certainly, those familiar with or curious about the Overview Effect will find much to contemplate and readers interested in human evolution, psychology, spirituality, and religion will derive tremendous value from the book as well.

Frank has written a profound work that addresses the fundamental questions of Why are we here? and What is the nature of the universe? He offers a vision for our future that is both purposeful and hopeful. I believe it is a fait accompli that humanity will reach for the stars, life will spread to areas now lifeless and consciousness will expand accordingly. This will happen with or without humanity knowing the role we are playing. However, if we are to fulfill our true potential, knowing how purposeful life is and how fundamental evolution is to Cosma constitutes a powerful and impactful accelerant. This, after all, is the true nature of self-awareness.

Dylan Taylor

Publisher

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE that it was 1988 when I began writing about Cosma. Since that time, I have focused much of my attention on my first book, The Overview Effect, published in 1987. However, I never forgot about the Cosma Hypothesis, a theory about the purpose of space exploration. So I am pleased and grateful that it is finally being published.

As I have written elsewhere, launching a book resembles launching a spacecraft, in that authors do not succeed on their own, any more than astronauts travel into orbit or the moon by themselves. Many, many people from the past and the present have supported me over a period of more than 35 years to bring this work into the world. Id like to thank all of them, but it would simply be impossible. For this reason, I have, with a few exceptions, such as family members, limited my acknowledgments to people who contributed most directly to the production of this book. In lieu of more personal comments, let me just thank everyone in my extended family and group of friends for helping me to reach this point.

Donna and I were married at a time when the publication of The Cosma Hypothesis seemed quite remote. However, she has never wavered in her commitment to all of my creative efforts, even those that are long shots in every sense of the wordlike this one. Donna is a source of love, inspiration, and amazing support for everything that I do, and I cant thank her enough. As I have shared with many audiences, our only prenuptial agreement was that if I had a chance to go into space, she would not stand in my wayand she has never hinted at backing out on that commitment, even as the possibility looms larger by the day!

My mother, Mary Ann White, started me on the path that led to The Overview Effect and The Cosma Hypothesis more than 60 years ago by giving me a book called Stars; Im sorry she isnt here to see the results, but I think she would be pleased. Thank you, Mom! My father, Frank C. White, did get to see The Overview Effect published, but passed away in 1992, so he will sadly miss this milestone. He consistently supported my work and read just about everything I ever wrote, as did my stepmother, Celeste. My son Josh has always been enthusiastic about my efforts and attended the eighth Space Shuttle launch with me. He also accompanied me to my interview with former Senator Jake Garn. My daughter Ruth was in Boston with me when The Overview Effect first came out, and she and her family have sent me a steady stream of books and works of art that relate to the Overview Effect and, now, to Cosma. (They introduced me to Yuval Harari.)

My stepdaughters, Elizabeth, Nikki, and Jennifer, have always been very positive about my work in all its forms for more than two decades.

Donna and I have 10 grandchildren, (Jessica, Madeline, Hunter, Brody, Ally, Daisy, Layla, Jack, Wilder, and Wesley) and I hope this book helps to create a brighter future for each and every one of them.

Of course, I owe a mammoth debt of gratitude to all the former, present, and future astronauts who originally agreed to be interviewed for The Overview Effect (I have used excerpts from their interviews in this book). Without them, there would be no books, and I deeply appreciate their willingness to participate in the project. I know that their time is valuable, and I am honored that they invested some of it in my work. Several people were instrumental in arranging the interviews with astronauts and they are fully acknowledged in The Overview Effect.

Ultimately, if there is one person who should be thanked for the publication of The Cosma Hypothesis, it is Dylan Taylor. His contributions to a positive future, from his founding of Space for Humanity to his creation of the 2211. world website on space philosophy, are becoming legendary. I am so grateful to him for also publishing