E hard for us to really understand how things dey happen when results dey gather because of how dem dey interact.
E get one popular math problem: one grandpikin tell im grandpa say make e dey give am chop money, say make e start with one yen and dey double di amount everyday for one month.
If di grandpa just agree anyhow, di chop money go reach one billion yen after one month.
Dis mistake dey happen because pipo dey usually think say if you double one yen small small times and e no reach plenty, then if you continue to double am, e go still follow di same pattern.
But, if person carefully follow how dis accumulation and interaction dey happen step by step, e go clear say di amount go be plenty gan, even if you no get advanced math knowledge or sharp brain.
So, dis no be problem of wetin you sabi or your ability, na problem of how you dey think.
And I go like call dis way of thinking—wey dey involve follow how things dey gather and interact step by step to logically understand di results—"simulation thinking."
De First Step for How Life Start
Na so, e hard for us to understand how life start.
How life start na di question of how complex cells come out for ancient Earth, wey for di beginning get only simple chemical substances.
When dem dey think about dis problem, sometimes dem dey explain am with something like a quick, accidental miracle.
But, if we look am from di angle of 'cumulative interaction', we fit understand am as something wey fit happen for real.
For Earth, water and air dey circulate plenty times for different places. Because of dis 'global circulation', chemical substances dey move small small for one area, then dem go spread all over di planet.
Dis plenty repetitions dey make chemical substances react with each other.
Because of dat, Earth suppose change from a state wey get only simple chemical substances to a state wey get a little bit more complex chemical substances. Of course, plenty simple chemical substances go still dey there.
And because di chemical substances wey be small complex na combination of simple ones, even if dem no plenty for number, dem go get more variety than di simple chemical substances.
Dis change no dey happen for just small small parts of Earth; e dey happen for di whole planet at di same time.
Also, because of di 'global circulation' of Earth water and air, wetin happen for small spaces dey spread out, making chemical substances mix up for di whole Earth. Dis one go make Earth get plenty different types of chemical substances wey be small complex pass how e be for di beginning.
Di Importance of De First Step
No direct proof say Earth change from how e be for beginning to how e be now; na hypothesis. But e hard for anybody to deny am. In fact, to deny am, person go need to explain why dis universal way wey things dey work, wey we fit still see today, no go fit work that time.
Dis way wey things dey work, for di small-small complex chemical substances, don already get 'self-maintenance', 'replication', and 'metabolism'. But dis one no be di high-level 'self-maintenance', 'replication', and 'metabolism' wey you go see for living things.
All di small-small complex chemical substances fit spoil and dem fit also form again. But for de whole planet, each kind of dis small-small complex chemical substances dey maintain one constant amount.
De fact say one constant amount dey maintain inside all dis repeated formation and destruction, na im dey show say 'self-maintenance' through 'metabolism' dey there.
Also, dis small-small complex chemical substances no dey exist as just one-one unit; even if deir proportion small, deir total number plenty gan.
Even if dis no be 'self-replication', na one productive activity wey dey create di same chemical substances. Even though dis one different small from 'replication', e dey give similar result.
In other words, de clear thing say Earth change from just gettin' simple chemical substances to gettin' small-small complex ones, na de first step and de main thing for how life start.
Towards Di Next Step
Of course, dis state, wey get small complex chemical substances, no be life itself.
And e no make sense to see am as di activity of life for di whole planet. Na just a state where small complex chemical substances dey because of repeated chemical reactions.
Moreover, dis tin fit surely happen for other planets apart from Earth. Di fact say life no come out for other planets but e come out for Earth, dey suggest say something different happen for Earth compared to other planets.
To think about wetin dat "something" fit be, na di next stage.
However, after we understand dis first step, we no suppose dey think about di next step for how life start in just one small area. Di next step, just like di first, must also be seen as something wey happen for di whole Earth.
And di next step na for Earth to change to a state wey get even small complex chemical substances.
As dis step dey repeat, chemical substances go small small and cumulatively become more complex.
At de same time, de mechanisms for self-maintenance, replication, and metabolism go also dey become more complex small small.
Wetin Polymers and Earth Shape Dey Do
Di presence of polymers get big role here. Proteins and nucleic acids na polymers. Polymers fit make complex and plenty different different polymers from just few types of monomers by 'cumulative interaction'. When monomers wey fit form polymers dey around, e make di evolutionary nature of dis mechanism stronger.
Plenty lakes and ponds for Earth dey work like separate science experiment places. E must be say millions of such places bin dey all over di world. Each one bin get different environment, but dem fit exchange chemical substances through 'global circulation' of water and air.
Di Power of Simulation Thinking
Once person imagine how life start for dis way, e no fit do pass just criticize am by saying "no evidence." Instead, person go need to find one way wey go prove dis way wrong. But me, I no fit think of any such way.
In other words, just like di grandpa for di chop money example, we just no understand how life start. By using 'simulation thinking', considering 'cumulative interaction' from di facts wey we already know, just as person fit understand how di chop money go become plenty after 30 days, person fit also understand how life fit start for Earth.
Di Hypothesis of Di 'Cloud of Dust'
Strong ultraviolet rays for Earth surface dey stop chemical substances from exchanging. But, for ancient Earth, wey get plenty volcanic activity and meteorite impacts, e must don dey covered by a 'cloud of dust' from volcanic ash and dust, wey go don protect am from ultraviolet rays.
Apart from dat, di atmosphere get hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen—atoms wey be key raw materials for important monomers for life—and di dust get other rare atoms. Di surface of di dust also work as a catalyst for di chemical synthesis of monomers.
Also, friction from di dust go don generate energy like heat and lightning, while di sun continuously supply energy in di form of ultraviolet light and heat.
Dis 'cloud of dust' na di ultimate monomer factory, e dey operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, using di whole Earth and all di solar energy wey dey pour onto am.
How Mechanisms Dey Interact
Remember di first step: di change to one Earth wey get small complex chemical substances.
For one planet where dis mechanism dey work, e get one ultimate monomer factory, and di way complexity dey gather for polymers don happen, plus millions of science laboratories wey dey connected to each other dey exist.
Even if dis one no fully explain how life start, no doubt say e form one way to generate di complex chemical substances wey living things need.
And remember di argument say di first step don already get di main thing of life.
One Earth wey come out as an extension of dis step, wey get plenty complex chemical substances, must therefore contain di main thing of life for a more advanced level.
We fit see how dis one lead to one Earth where plenty different kinds of highly complex chemical substances and sophisticated life-essential phenomena dey present.
Di Final Touches
Now, we fit think about how life start based on one Earth wey don reach one very good state, one assumption wey dem no usually make for existing discussions.
Wetin else we still need for living organisms to show face?
Na di creation and joining of di functional mechanisms wey living organisms need.
Dis one no look like e need any special arrangements and e fit be explained as a natural extension of wetin we don discuss so far.
Di Method of Simulation Thinking
'Simulation thinking' different from simulation itself.
For example, to try and simulate di mechanism of how life start as I describe am here for computer no go easy.
Dis na because my explanation no get di strict formal expressions wey dem need for simulation.
However, dis no mean say my thinking no precise.
Even though di way I express am na with words, e dey based on strong logical structure, scientific facts wey everybody know, and objective reasoning wey come from our experience.
Therefore, e possible to completely understand di general trends and changes for properties. If any errors dey, e no be because formalization no dey, but rather because dem overlook some underlying conditions or di effects of specific interactions.
So, 'simulation thinking' fit happen using natural language, even without defining formal expressions.
I believe say even without formal expressions, mathematical concepts fit be strictly expressed using natural language.
I dey call dis 'Natural Mathematics'.
With 'Natural Mathematics', di effort and time wey dem need for formalization no dey again, making it possible for more pipo to mathematically understand and grasp a wider range of concepts than with existing mathematics.
And 'simulation thinking' na exactly a method of thought wey dey use simulation based on natural language.
Software Development
'Simulation thinking' na skill wey software developers no fit do without.
A program na just dey repeat calculations using data for memory space and putting di results inside di same or different data for memory space.
In other words, a program na 'cumulative interaction' itself.
Wetin person wan achieve by developing software, dem usually understand am through documents and interviews with di person wey order di development.
Since di main goal na to make it happen for a program, its content must finally be di 'cumulative interaction' of data.
However, di person wey order software development no be programming expert. So, dem no fit strictly describe wetin dem wan achieve using formal expressions.
Because of dat, wetin dem get from documents and interviews na natural language texts, and extra diagrams and tables. Di process of changing dis into strict formal expressions na wetin software development be.
During di software development process, e get tasks like requirements analysis and requirement organization, and specification definition, where dem dey arrange development content based on customer documents.
Also, based on di results of di specification definition, dem dey do basic design.
Di results of all dis tasks up till dis point, dem dey express am mainly using natural language. As di work dey progress, di content dey become logically stricter, making it easier to create di final program.
And for di stage of basic design, wey dey focus on natural language, e must be something wey fit work for computer and achieve wetin di customer wan.
Na exactly here 'simulation thinking', using 'Natural Mathematics', dey needed. On top of dat, 'dual simulation thinking' na must here.
One na 'simulation thinking' to confirm if di expected operation fit happen as an interaction between computer memory space and di program.
Di other na 'simulation thinking' to confirm if wetin di customer wan achieve don really happen.
Di first one need di ability to understand di internal workings of di computer through 'simulation thinking'. Di second one need di ability to understand di tasks di customer go do using di software through 'simulation thinking'.
Na dis way, software developers get di 'dual simulation thinking' ability—both principled 'simulation thinking' and semantic 'simulation thinking'—as an empirical skill.
Conclusion
Plenty scientists and pipo wey sabi book well-well dey study how life start. But, to approach how life start for di way wey dem describe here no common.
Dis one dey suggest say 'simulation thinking' na one way of thinking wey plenty pipo no too get, no matter wetin dem sabi or deir abilities.
On di other hand, software developers dey use 'simulation thinking' to change different ideas into systems.
Of course, 'simulation thinking' no be only for software developers, but software development particularly need dis ability and e perfect for making it sharp.
By using 'simulation thinking', person no just fit build and understand di whole picture of complex and advanced scientific mysteries like how life start, but also complex subjects like how organizations and society dey structured.
Therefore, I believe say for di society of tomorrow, pipo wey get 'simulation thinking' skills, just like software developers, go play active roles for different different areas.