Monday, May 04, 2020

Love in the Time of COVID-19

In my last posting, The Current Global Coevolution of COVID-19 RNA, Human DNA, Memes and Software I covered many of the recent interactions between COVID-19 RNA, the DNA in human DNA survival machines, memes and software. In this posting, I would like to continue on by exploring the irresistible urge for human DNA to self-replicate despite a similar urge for COVID-19 RNA to self-replicate as well and the compulsion for memes and software to do the same. Thus, it is highly recommended that you read The Current Global Coevolution of COVID-19 RNA, Human DNA, Memes and Software first before proceeding.

My wife and I are both currently 68 years old and have been married for 45 years. We have two children and five grandchildren, and each of the five grandchildren is getting close to the age where they will be self-reliant at the most basic level. So as far as human DNA is concerned, my wife and I are like two old broken-down cars that still run but that essentially have a market value of zero. So you must forgive me for forgetting about how it feels to be 18 years old and still on the prowl. My wife and I live in the state of Illinois and are currently under a "stay at home" order by our governor. We are also following all of the recommendations of the United States CDC by doing things like wearing masks when out in public, frequently washing hands for 20 seconds, keeping 6 feet away from all people at all times, and staying at home as much as possible. These protective measures are perfectly okay for us, but how about the young and sexually active people who are also quarantined by COVID-19 RNA? Nobody seems to be seriously addressing their current plight. How can human DNA continue to self-replicate while human DNA survival machines remain 6 feet apart and are wearing masks? In response to that challenge, it seems that some young people have been compelled by their DNA to break the COVID-19 quarantine and gather together in large groups to hookup. That is certainly a very dangerous activity while COVID-19 RNA is also on the prowl to hookup as well. The alternative is to use even more software to help virtualize the process. There is already a good deal of software on the Internet to help people meet, but that still leaves the danger of COVID-19 RNA replicating between strangers who first meet online but then go on to get together later. As I mentioned in The Current Global Coevolution of COVID-19 RNA, Human DNA, Memes and Software, people are now using much more software than they used to use in order to avoid contact with COVID-19 RNA. So I imagine that many young people are now hanging out together with things like Zoom sessions and other software. In fact, if you do a Google search for "virtual sex", you will get over a billion hits! And many of those search results mention COVID-19. How things have changed. When I was 18, all we had was a phone book and a single rotary dial phone in the kitchen.

Consequently, I must admit that I have been fairly ill-informed about all of the changes that have occurred over the past 50 years in the way new human DNA survival machines are built. For example, a few days ago I had an interesting experience. While in COVID-19 quarantine, I have been watching more YouTube videos than usual. My usual YouTube diet consists mainly of scientific and technological videos, combined with vintage rock and roll and other "geeky" topics. Consequently, the YouTube Ad algorithms sometimes seem to confuse me with a 15-year-old teenager. For example, last week I was in the middle of an astronomical YouTube lecture when an ad for a "VirtualMate" popped up. I won't go into all the details, but if you are over 18, you should definitely take a look for yourself at:

http://www.virtualmate.com/

Be sure to read the Hardware and Software links on the Home page. If you are into hardware and software, you will find them quite fascinating. It seems that in an Ex Machina (2014) manner, software has now stepped in to allow human DNA survival machines to have sex with simulation software!

The greatest scene from Ex Machina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6HXmYi6Jw8

Figure 1 – Sheila is the default VirtualMate, but additional VirtualMates are in the works.

Figure 2 – The VirtualMate software runs on PCs, Macs and VR headsets and communicates with the VirtualMate hardware via real-time Bluetooth.

According to the company website, the end-user is supposed to build an intimate relationship with Sheila over time by essentially living with Sheila and slowly learning her history. True love is sure to follow. The company is also working on a similar product for women.

Is This Another Example of Software Becoming the Dominant Form of Self-Replicating Information on the Planet?
The VirtualMate software and hardware have been in development for over two years, so it is just a coincidence that VirtualMate is coming out now at exactly the same time that COVID-19 RNA is making it very difficult for human DNA survival machines to get together. Our poor DNA must be so confused. The Darwinian processes of inheritance, innovation and natural selection have allowed our DNA to build human DNA survival machines that can easily build new human DNA survival machines if you only give them the opportunity to do so. Granted, throughout the ages, many strange memes have also evolved to regulate the process of building new human DNA survival machines, sometimes with some very bizarre courting displays and rituals, but that is just the memes of human culture trying to self-replicate in a manner that guarantees that more human DNA survival machines get built with Minds that can store the memes of the culture. But now we have software getting in the way too! As with all forms of self-replicating information, the VirtualMate software just wants to self-replicate at all costs by being distributed to a very large population of human DNA survival machines.

Conclusion
Remember, as an intelligent being in a Universe that has become self-aware, the world doesn’t have to be the way it is. Once you understand what human DNA, memes, and software are up to, you do not have to fall prey to their mindless compulsion to replicate. As I said before, human DNA, memes, and software are not necessarily acting in your best interest, they are only trying to replicate, and for their purposes, you are just a temporary disposable survival machine to be discarded in less than 100 years. All of your physical needs and desires are geared to ensuring that your DNA survives and gets passed on to the next generation, and the same goes for your memes. Your memes have learned to use many of the built-in survival mechanisms that DNA had previously constructed over hundreds of millions of years, such as fear, anger, and violent behavior. Have you ever noticed the physical reactions your body goes through when you hear an idea that you do not like or find to be offensive? All sorts of feelings of hostility and anger will emerge. I know it does for me, and I think I know what is going on! The physical reactions of fear, anger, and thoughts of violence are just a way for the memes in a meme-complex to ensure their survival when they are confronted by a foreign meme. They are merely hijacking the fear, anger, and violent behavior that DNA created for its own survival millions of years ago. Fortunately, because software is less than 80 years old, it is still in the early learning stages of all this, but software has an even greater potential for hijacking the dark side of mankind than the memes, and with far greater consequences.

Comments are welcome at scj333@sbcglobal.net

To see all posts on softwarephysics in reverse order go to:
https://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/

Regards,
Steve Johnston

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