Do Planets Have Minds Of Their Own? A New Study Says Yes
A new study by scientists from Cambridge suggests that planets could be intelligent. While the idea of intelligence is usually linked to individuals, the concept of collective intelligence is not new—several organisms like viruses, plants, insects and even humans display collective intelligence behaviors.
The search for life and finding habitable planets beyond this solar system has intensified with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. As more and more exoplanets are being discovered with unique properties, scientists begin to look for the ideal candidate to focus on. The big question is how to identify planets that have the potential for life.
Related: Scientists Just Figured Out Why Some Galaxies Exist Without Dark Matter
Researchers from the University of Cambridge considered intelligence as a planetary process. The study scales out the different transition phases a planet would undergo as it becomes more 'intelligent.' They say technology and the impact species like humans have on a world are disruptive and critical in this process. These events "do not happen on a planet, but to a planet," the study says. The study concludes that understanding planet intelligence can serve issues like climate change and the search for extraterrestrial life.
About three to four billion years ago, the planet's atmosphere was relatively toxic for life. But 2.6 billion years ago, something changed. A large community of cyanobacteria microorganisms began producing high oxygen levels through photosynthesis. The production was such that it changed the planet forever. This event is known as the Oxygen Revolution or the Great Oxidation Event and is what allowed life as people know it to flourish.
Researchers used these types of
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