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Shen Yaozi on Xiaoman (小滿), Bingxu (丙戌) Year

In nonlinear physics, there is a structure known as dissipative systems, also called dissipative structures. This is a burgeoning new science proposed by the Belgian chemist and physicist Ilya Prigogine, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977. Dissipative systems are closely related to subjects such as chaos, fractals, holography, and nonlinear mathematics.

A dissipative system refers to a nonlinear dynamic system that continuously absorbs matter, energy, and information (negative entropy) from its surrounding environment and simultaneously expels matter, energy, and information (positive entropy) back into the environment. During this process of input and output, the system exhibits a certain fixed or dynamically repeating pattern in time or space, which is the dissipative structure.

Dissipative systems are unfamiliar to traditional basic sciences and have several characteristics:

• Firstly, they exhibit fractal characteristics, meaning the patterns they generate have the trait of continuous self-repetition. Each local structure contains the pattern of the entire whole, its dimension is not an integer, its complexity is infinite, and although its patterns are self-repeating, they are similar yet different, and different yet similar (Figure 1);
• Secondly, the patterns they generate depend on the degree of interaction with the surrounding environment and the conditions of that environment, meaning the generation of patterns is subject to boundary conditions;
• Thirdly, the system has the concept of discontinuous states (or phases). When boundary conditions change, the system can transition from one state to another, and under chaotic configurations, the system has an infinite number of possible states, densely connected together. Any slight change in boundary conditions can cause the system to jump from its original state to another state that may be entirely different from the previous one, which is the famous butterfly effect. This is similar to electrons having several discontinuous energy states when their potential is limited, and only when the electron's energy is sufficient can it transition to another state; whereas free electrons without limitations have an infinite number of continuous states, and any energy disturbance can cause the electron to jump to another state.

Figure 1, the famous fractal example "Mandelbrot set"
Image source: Wikipedia
Our daily lives are actually filled with dissipative systems, such as life itself, which continuously absorbs and releases matter, energy, and information from and to its surroundings. In this flow, the pattern (structure) of life is exhibited and preserved. Once this exchange of matter, energy, and information stops, the structure of life cannot be maintained and will collapse. Cities are also examples.

In the grand environment, what most profoundly affects life is the vast dissipative system on the Earth's surface, with the Sun being the primary provider of energy and information. The necessary and sufficient boundary conditions are the current distance between the Earth and the Sun, and the current angle between the ecliptic and the equator. Additionally, the Earth has water, a daily cycle, and an annual cycle. When the Sun's light, heat, and embedded information strike the Earth's surface, evaporation and convection begin to occur, and under specific conditions, dissipative structures emerge. This is akin to a kettle placed on a stove; after being heated at a specific temperature and for a certain duration, complex convection patterns begin to appear within the kettle, which are also forms of dissipative structures. In the colossal kettle that is Earth, under these precisely balanced boundary conditions, the patterns of life gradually emerge through evaporation. Hence, I say, "The Sun steams the Earth, and all things dissipate."

The pattern of life is a dissipative structure, which necessarily satisfies the three principles mentioned earlier. It is a fractal, both inside and out, from the tiniest local parts to the whole, all exhibiting a self-repeating pattern. Its structural pattern is inevitably closely related to boundary conditions. In short, the configuration of the Earth and the Sun, including surrounding satellites, planets, and even distant stars, determines the pattern of life. Its system has the concept of states, with different states having different patterns, and the states are determined by the amount of energy and information input into the system. Therefore, the surface of the Earth has different categories of life as boundary conditions change. From this, I hypothesize that life is not produced by evolution, but is an inevitable result of the Earth's configuration and boundary conditions. Because changes in boundary conditions lead to changes in the dissipative structures that transpire on the Earth's surface, resulting in different life patterns, which are mistakenly thought to be evolution. Why? If the Earth were moved from its current orbit, either closer or farther from the Sun, or if the angle between the ecliptic and the equator were changed, the configuration of light, heat, and information that the Earth receives from the Sun would immediately change, and all patterns on the Earth's surface, including the atmosphere and life, would immediately undergo drastic changes. If the boundary conditions are truly insufficient, they might even disappear, such as in the ancient dinosaur era, which was likely due to the Earth's orbital and atmospheric boundary conditions being different from the current ones, leading to the life patterns of that time. When the Earth's boundary conditions drastically change due to some factor (such as a comet impact), causing a change in boundary conditions, the dissipative structural patterns on the Earth's surface also change, leading to the extinction of old species and the emergence of new ones.

Any living organism on Earth, in time and space, is simulating the Earth's massive mother dissipative structure, which is also one of the characteristics of dissipative patterns, from the tiniest to the whole, all exhibiting structural self-repetition. Starting from an unfertilized egg, the egg is like the Earth, and the sperm is like the light, heat, and information from the Sun. When the sperm enters the egg, the transformation of another small universe begins , thus the Tai Chi divides into two forms, the two forms divide into four phenomena, the four phenomena generate the eight trigrams, and the eight trigrams determine the universe, completing another living organism, a small universe. After that, above the diaphragm is like the sky, with the two lungs filled with air flow, the heart is like the Sun hanging in the sky, constantly pulsating to emit light and heat (i.e., blood flow in the vessels) to the whole body, and body fluids are like lakes and seas, nourishing and maintaining temperature. In fact, the proportion and composition of water in the human body are quite similar to the proportion and composition of the oceans on the Earth's surface, which also explains why the heart evolved to beat intermittently rather than as a continuous pump, due to the daily cycle, as the Earth's surface also receives the Sun's light and heat intermittently, not continuously. Below the diaphragm, organs like the stomach and intestines are like the Earth, where any food and drink that enters is transformed into nutrients to nourish every creature (cell) in this small universe. Each cell in the body is actually a small world, also a dissipative system, for example, mitochondria are like the Sun, constantly emitting light and heat, and I speculate that mitochondria must also have a pulsating rhythm like day and night, although current biology has not yet discovered this. Therefore, I believe that what the fertilized egg replays is not only the evolutionary history of life on Earth but also the currently living Earth.

Without the sun's evaporation, or if the conditions for evaporation are insufficient or excessive, dissipative structures like life would not emerge. So, under what conditions does life, as a dissipative structure, emerge? And what patterns does it produce? The conditions are that it must be within the temperature range currently acceptable to life, meaning the sun and Earth maintain their current orbital distance, the ecliptic and equator have their current inclination, and there must be daily and annual cycles. The primary macro pattern it can produce is the four seasons. The four seasons represent significant changes in the macro environment's patterns, energy, and color. If the light and heat from the sun are too much or too little, the entire pattern will deviate or even disappear. In other words, the current configuration of Earth is the optimal boundary condition for producing the current patterns of life.

The pattern of the four seasons is a dissipative structure, representing four energy attributes—spring, dispersion, cyan; summer, ascent, warmth, red; autumn, convergence, white; winter, descent, black. It possesses the characteristic of continuously repeating itself across different times and spaces. Spatially, it corresponds to east, west, south, and north; temporally, it corresponds to spring, summer, autumn, and winter. At the same time, we can witness the scenery of winter in the north, summer in the south, spring in the east, and autumn in the west. At different times, we can feel winter at midnight, spring in the morning, summer at noon, and autumn in the evening. Even within a month, the pattern of the four seasons is evident, such as the ebb and flow of tides. The pattern of the four seasons reminds me of the fractal structure generated by Newton's method in complex space, Z⁴=1 (Figure 2), which exhibits a fractal universe of endless self-repetition and myriad variations at the intersections of the four sets of solutions.

Life, being part of the dissipative system on the Earth's surface, is a small fragment of the entire fractal and naturally embodies the infinite complexity of the Earth's patterns—like a sparrow, small but complete. Within life, there are temporal changes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, as well as spatial variations of these seasons. For example, the left corresponds to spring, the right to autumn, the upper to summer, and the lower to winter. Childhood is spring, youth is summer, middle age is autumn, and old age is winter. The functions of the organs can be divided according to the attributes of the four seasons, such as the liver corresponding to spring, the heart to summer, the lungs to autumn, and the kidneys to winter. Each heartbeat represents the alternation of day and night. From a holographic perspective, many parts of the human body can reflect the overall functional state and even serve as treatment points, such as the pulse at the wrist, facial diagnosis, tongue diagnosis, ear acupoints, the second metacarpal bone, and even a single cell can be seen as a microcosm of the entire human body or the universe.

Ancient philosophers, through observing the heavens and examining the Earth, discovered the characteristics of dissipative systems. These patterns and rules continuously repeat themselves across the broader environment and even within the human body. They applied the features of dissipative systems to the fullest, giving rise to theories such as Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, Five Movements and Six Climates, and the correspondence between humans and nature, particularly in their successful application in medicine. The greatest Yin-Yang on Earth is the alternation of day and night, which is one of the boundary conditions of Earth's dissipative systems. It stably and absolutely influences all dissipative patterns on Earth. The theory of the Five Elements is composed of the Four Elements—spring, summer, autumn, and winter—along with the Earth. The Earth serves as the background, and the Four Elements interweave and transform on this foundation, creating a kaleidoscope of dazzling patterns.

The theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements are the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine. They continuously provide energy for innovation and creation to physicians across dynasties, ensuring the enduring vitality of Chinese medicine. Its unwaning application over thousands of years suggests that it holds deeper connotations waiting to be uncovered. The theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements transcend modern understanding. The mainstream of modern Chinese medicine often regards Yin-Yang and the Five Elements as unscientific, rarely or even shamefully discussing them. This is indeed a regression. If a field of knowledge loses or denies its foundation, can it still have a future?