What a cool system, thanks for sharing! That crystalline structure formation was very interesting. The fact that matter naturally tends to fall into a self-sustaining low-energy state when entropy is added to a system governed by at least one force (a.k.a. you shake a bottle of sand up and down and gravity pulls the denser particles to the bottom to achieve pressure equillibrium) really is the key to making this all work, huh? I'd be interested to see a version of this experiment [0] with a rapidly alternating magnetic field instead of a static one.

I am exploring the physical implications of a philosophical concept I have been working on for a while which I refer to as Zodeasim, specifically I am trying to couple consciousness with the concept of system which is able to expend energy in order to exert a mind-to-world fit in the interest of the system's continued growth and stability. This is similar and complimentary to Friston's free energy principle [0].

That is, I am a conscious being precisely because at any time, I can use the energy within my system to act against the natural lowest energy state in which I exist. I can jump up, against gravity, or I can push against strong winds, or lift heavy objects. The very act of using energy in order to act against external forces is what separates me from the air I breathe and the ground upon which I stand, because it implies some kind of physical calculation which results in a particular orchestrated motion carried out by every atom in my body. The complexity of these physical calculations, and the senses which define the way in which these calculations take place, create an emergent layer which we perceive as consciousness.

The ability to perceive emotions is a powerful apparatus which greatly extends the capability of a system to perceive itself as a single entity which has certain needs which need to be met, so even if a bug also constantly consumes and expends energy in order to remain in a higher energy state, our perception of the world and of ourselves is radically different. This makes it difficult for us to agree upon what a "conscious experience" is, and if all forms of life are even "conscious". The Panpsychists believe that even a rock contains "consciousness", however my assertion is that only periodic systems with the ability to consume and expend energy in a directed fashion have any sort of "experience".

So naturally, I propose a higher order layer of consciousness, one that we cannot quite perceive since we are constituents of the layer from which it arises. I define any motion in the universe which is a result of a system changing energy states as a result of a physical computation to be a "kin". Any other kind of motion, like a rock falling from my hand to the ground, is just regular, abiotic motion. As an independent organism, my system is a culmination of a great deal many different kinds of kins, which can usually be broken down into simple rules, such as the activation potential of a neuron in my brain being a straight-forward non-linear response to the amount of voltage it is receiving from other neurons, as well as non-kins, such as a protein "walking" across a cell, a.k.a continuously "falling" into the lowest energy state. Thus I do not gain any conscious perception from such proteins, but I do gain it from the total network effect of all my brain's neuronal structures making simple calculations based on sensory input.

Thus the namesake of Zodeasim: Zoo = alive, idea = idea. I posit the existence of a form of "life" in the sense of a self-sustaining system capable of expelling energy in self-interest, which lasts far beyond the average human lifespan. We are able to encode into the universe "ideas" which have the capability to sustain themselves and, over time, either strengthen, evolve, or die out. Whereas we use our neurons to do our computations, an idea is able to carry out its computations across the entire noosphere [1] and it is within that system that the idea exists. An idea is able to gather intel from the senses of many different creatures, and make changes to its form which are suitable. An idea can travel through any medium. I can speak something to you and the idea can travel through the sound waves. I can write to you and let it travel through photons. But ultimately, it can use any channel available to communicate itself. Some ideas are so strong that, just by hearing them, they completely overtake your body for their purposes. I know it seems wonky but if you consider that we don't understand the nature of our own free will, such ideas don't necessarily have to be acting in their own "free will" in order to be conscious, so long as they are defined by their kins, which are able to change energy states in self-interest according to internal and external conditions.

This is what I am trying to experiment with n-body systems. The transfer of information between systems and the ability for systems to act in self-preservation in a more controlled and simplified environment. I hope I find some of the answers I seek.

[0]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principle#Free_ene...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_energy_principle#Perceptu...

[1] http://www.jetp.ac.ru/cgi-bin/dn/e_034_06_1257.pdf

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noosphere