The Animate and the Inanimate

The Animate and the Inanimate was a book written by child prodigy and polymath William James Sidis (1898–1944), detailing his thoughts on the origins of life, cosmology, the potential reversibility of the second law through Maxwell's Demon, among other things. It was published in 1925,[1] however it is suggested that Sidis was working on the theory as early as 1916.[2] One motivation for writing this theory appears to be to explain psychologist and philosopher William James's "reserve energy" theory which claimed that there was "reserve energy" that could be used by people when put under extreme conditions, Sidis' own "forced prodigy" upbringing being a result of testing said theory. The work is one of the few works that Sidis did not write under a pseudonym.

In The Animate and the Inanimate, Sidis states that the universe is infinite, as well as it containing sections of "negative tendencies" where[3] various laws of physics were reversed that are juxtaposed with "positive tendencies", which switch over epochs of time. Sidis provides a table of the nature of positive tendencies and negative tendencies.[4]

Origin of life

Sidis states that there was not an "origin of life", but that life has always existed and that it has only changed through evolution. Sidis also adopts Eduard Pflüger's cyanogen based life theory, and Sidis cites "organic" things such as almonds (his example) that have cyanogen that doesn't kill, as cyanogen (and derivatives thereof) is normally a highly toxic substance thus making this a strange anomaly.

Sidis describes his theory as a fusion of the mechanistic model of life and the vitalist model of life, as well as entertaining the notion of life coming to earth from asteroids (as advanced by Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz). Sidis also states that functionally speaking, stars are "alive" and undergo an eternal light-star --> dark-star (repeat) cycle, reversing the second law in the dark cycle, thus creating the field of "astrobiology".[5]

Theory
The positive tendencyThe negative tendency
1. Follows the second law of thermodynamics.1. Reverses the second law of thermodynamics.
2. Decreases difference of energy level.2. Increases difference of energy level.
3. Forms unavailable reserve energy.3. Uses this reserve energy.
4. Uses up available energy.4. Forms available energy.
5. Lifeless; appears passive.5. Living; appears active.
6. Inelastic collisions.6. Super-elastic collisions.
7. Mechanical efficiency less than 100%.7. Mechanical efficiency over 100%.
8. Larger causes produce smaller effects.8. Smaller causes produce larger effects.
9. Explained easiest by cause; apparent rigidity of causality.9. Explained easiest by effect; apparent teleology.
10. Appear living when reversed.10. Appear lifeless when reversed.
11. Absence of irritability.11. Irritability
12. Atoms integrate at great heat, otherwise dissociate.12. Atoms dissociate at great heat, otherwise integrate.
13. Chemical reactions tend towards exothermic compounds.13. Chemical reactions tend towards endothermic compounds.
14. Spontaneous and complete generation from opposite tendency possible.14. Spontaneous or complete generation from opposite tendency impossible.
15. Can generate opposite tendency only by gradual growth from a living center.15. Generates opposite tendency, spontaneously, suddenly, and completely.
16. Partly remains when there is transformation into the opposite tendency.16. Is needed if more is to be formed.
17. Hot bodies give out light etc.17. Hot bodies absorb light etc.
18. Light tends not to enter the positive section of the universe.18. Light tends not to leave the negative section of the universe.
19. Tends to include exothermic compounds.19. Tends to no include endothermic compounds.
20. Ordinary lifeless objects.20. Inorganic life.
21. Tends to include complex endothermic compounds.21. Tends to include complex endothermic compounds.
22. Pseudo-living organisms.22. Living organisms.
23. Metabolism.23. Metabolism.
24. Obeys the three laws of motion and the law of gravitation.24. Obeys the three laws of motion and the law of gravitation.
25. Conservation of mass and of energy.25. Conservation of mass and of energy.
26. Sensitive only to the future.26. Sensitive only to the past.
27. Organisms conceive of time and events as reversed.27. Organisms conceive of time and events in the order in which they occur.
28. Memory must refer to future.28. Memory must refer to past.
29. Illusion in positive mental phenomena of flow of time from future to past.29. Illusion in negative mental phenomena of flow of time from past to future.
30. All positive phenomena fully determined by either cause or effect.30. All negative phenomena fully determined by either cause or effect.

Reception

For all intents and purposes, Sidis' theory at the time of its release was ignored, only to be found in an attic in 1979. Upon this discovery, Buckminster Fuller (who was a classmate of William James Sidis') said the following in regards to The Animate and the Inanimate:

"Imagine my excitement and joy on being handed this xerox of Sidis' 1925 book, in which he clearly predicts the black hole. In fact, I find his whole book, The Animate and the Inanimate to be a fine cosmological piece. I find him focusing on the same subjects that fascinate me, and coming to about the same conclusions as those I have published in SYNERGETICS, and will be publishing in SYNERGETICS Volume II, which has already gone to the press.

As a Harvard man of a generation later, I hope you will become as excited as I am at this discovery that Sidis did go on after college to do the most magnificent thinking and writing."[6]

Besides that, Sidis' theory has gained no mainstream recognition and Sidis himself remains virtually unknown, save in specific interest groups (mostly due to Abraham Sperling's and Helena Sidis' claim that W. J. Sidis had an IQ upwards of 250).

References
  1. "The Animate and the Inanimate". Sidis.net. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  2. "Letter to Huxley". Sidis.net. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  3. "The Animate and the Inanimate : William James Sidis". Archived from the original on December 10, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  4. "ANIM17". December 10, 2000. Archived from the original on December 10, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  5. "ANIM11". October 24, 2000. Archived from the original on October 24, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  6. "Bucky Ltr". March 3, 2001. Archived from the original on March 3, 2001. Retrieved August 29, 2019.

Further reading
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