eSOM
The Road to D, or the Story of Singularity High School (SHS) and Cowa
2025.05.09
The Road to D, or The Story of Cowa (8): I, as as a child of the stars and the Universe, and the Earth as a part of ‘this body’ of my own
1. “Humans are Children of the Stars, Children of the Universe” ~ Irreplaceable Life, a 13.8 Billion Year Journey ~ This is the alternative name for “Science and Human Life,” a required science subject at SHS. Mr. Shuji Ochi, who is in charge of the course, gave it this name. As the name suggests, we, SHS members, were originally constructed by stars (fixed stars), and stars are constructed by the universe. So, where and how was the universe, our (provisional) ancestor of existence, constructed? Regarding “where,” although there are various theories, current science has not figured it out yet. On the other hand, regarding “how,” the “Big Bang Theory” offers a tentative scientific explanation. However, humanity believed that the universe revolved around the Earth until only 400-500 years ago. Therefore, the “Big Bang Theory” is not absolute either. Questioning all accepted theories and common sense. From there, the “Road to Vagabond (Inquiry-Based Learner)” begins. 2. For now, “Mr. Ochi’s History of the Universe” adopts the “Big Bang Theory.” According to this, the birth of the universe was 13.8 billion years ago. That is the beginning of the “history of the universe.” Since the universe is also the “parent” of humanity, it can also be said to be the beginning of human history. However, it took 13.795 billion years from the Big Bang until the emergence of the earliest species of Australopithecus, considered the first humans, roughly 5 million years ago. As for Homo sapiens, the direct ancestor of modern humans, it took another 4.7 million years after the appearance of Australopithecus, totaling 13.7997 billion years since the birth of the universe. First, stars (fixed stars) were born 13.5 billion years ago, 300 million years after the birth of the universe. Then, 200 million years after the birth of stars, 13.3 billion years ago, galaxies (vast collections of celestial bodies formed by the gravitational gathering of hundreds of millions to trillions of stars, interstellar gas, and dust) were born.(Shuji Ochi, “‘Humans are Children of the Stars, Children of the Universe’ ~ Irreplaceable Life, a 13.8 Billion Year Journey ~ (SHS Required Subject ‘Science and Human Life’)” (hereafter, “Children of the Stars”)) It is said that (second-generation and later) stars are born from interstellar matter (matter created by stellar explosions). So, how were the “first-generation stars,” the “first stars born in the universe,” formed? According to Coro (Gemini), everyone at SHS’ beloved dog, the first stars were born from primordial gas clouds mainly composed of hydrogen and helium immediately after the Big Bang. For more information on the birth of the first stars and the Big Bang: x.com/shinkoukouwa/s In this way, if you have ① the ability to set appropriate questions (tasks), ② the ability to set “further questions” such as “what if ○○?” (e.g., if stars are born from interstellar matter generated by stellar explosions, how were the first stars born?), which is computational thinking, and ③ the skills to use AI as an assistant to conduct inquiry-based learning like ②, you can learn on your own in a way that no school or (human) teacher can match. If you can master AI. Elon Musk says that using AI as a learning assistant is like having Einstein as a tutor. I completely agree. Let me give you one example. In a high school in Africa, where the educational standards are by no means high compared to developed countries, when they used AI to conduct learning that takes several years in prestigious British schools, they achieved the same level as British students in just half a year. Based on this, at SHS, facilitators (not teachers) act as “masters” of “training” to become “Vagabonds (Inquiry-Based Learners),” nurturing the above three skills together with the students. 3． Let’s continue talking for a while about what happened during the 13.7997 billion years between the birth of the universe and the birth of Homo sapiens. Therein lies the secret of why “Health and Physical Education” is one of the “core” subjects of co-education at SHS, alongside “Calligraphy” (art), “Home Economics,” and “Science and Human Life.” After the birth of stars (13.5 billion years ago), 300 million years after the birth of the universe, the birth and explosion of stars were repeated in the universe. “Through this repetition, heavy elements accumulated, and materials for planets, etc., were also created” (“Children of the Stars”). Then, about 9 billion years after the birth of the universe, 4.6 billion years ago, the solar system (the Sun and all the celestial bodies bound to it by gravity, including planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, and dust), in other words, the Earth, was finally born. The first life on Earth is estimated to have been born 4 billion years ago, 500 million years after the Earth was born. Regarding this point, let’s look at “Mr. Ochi’s History of the Universe”: “Near the eruption vents of submarine volcanoes, high-temperature eruptions of over 350°C spew out. There are various sulfide ions, hydrogen ions, methane, carbon dioxide, etc., and organic matter is generated using these as materials. These complexly combined to give birth to the first living organisms (unicellular prokaryotes: bacteria). The age of about 4 billion years is based on research on organic carbon (3.95 billion years old) from the Labrador region of Canada.” (“Children of the Stars”) As you can surmise from this quote from “Children of the Stars,” living organisms are substances born through a very complex process in which various elements such as water, organic matter, and energy interact with minerals. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the current diversity of life could not have existed without minerals. In that sense, minerals are undoubtedly the “fundamental basis,” if not the “mother,” of living organisms. For more details, see: gemini.google.com/share/e8a564c6 4． So, how were the “various elements such as water, organic matter, and energy,” the source of life, as well as minerals born in the universe? First, let’s start with the scientifically reliable knowledge that everything on Earth is made of “elements” (basic components that cannot be further decomposed by chemical means; basic “materials” for making substances). For a detailed explanation of the structure of elements in relation to atoms, see: g.co/gemini/share/5 And all the elements that exist in the universe are produced by nuclear fusion within stars: x.com/shinkoukouwa/s For more details on nuclear fusion, see: gemini.google.com/share/40cfb14e Elements are generated by nuclear fusion, and using elements as materials, all substances that exist on Earth, from minerals to living organisms, are generated. Therefore, it would not be an exaggeration to say that nuclear fusion is the source of the Earth and humans: x.com/shinkoukouwa/s By the way, in “Mr. Ochi’s History of the Universe,” we learn that “the constituent materials of the countless planets that exist in the Milky Way galaxy are almost the same as the constituent materials of our bodies (the essential elements CHNOPS, considered ‘building blocks of life’).” This brings us to the hypothesis that the Earth can be considered one organism, one body, just like the human body. James Lovelock’s “Gaia theory” is precisely such a theory. Also, Lynn Margulis (biology), the former wife of Carl Sagan (astrophysics), whom Mr. Ochi respects and who taught for many years at my alma mater (Cornell University), is a scientist who stands on a similar viewpoint with her “endosymbiotic theory.” For more information on the Gaia theory and the endosymbiotic theory, see: x.com/shinkoukouwa/s Each member of SHS aims to achieve the well-being (physical, mental, and social health) of both their own body and the Earth, considering the Earth as an extension of their own body, in other words, as a part of their own body. (To be continued)
