Владислав Педдер – Processual Pessimism. On the Nature of Cosmic Suffering and Human Nothingness (страница 10)
Concurrently with Vilenkin, the hypothesis of a universe with zero total energy was proposed. According to this hypothesis, the positive energy of matter (mass, fields, kinetic energy) is exactly balanced by the negative energy of the gravitational field. In 1973, Edward Tryon suggested that our universe is a large-scale fluctuation of the quantum vacuum, with its total energy equal to zero because the energy of matter is precisely offset by gravitational potential energy.
If the positive material energy and the negative energy of curvature exactly compensate each other, then the “appearance” of the universe requires no external energy source. As Stephen Hawking noted, in the creation of mass, exactly as much “negative” energy arises as the positive energy taken, so that the total energy remains zero.
The zero-total-energy hypothesis assumes that positive contributions (energy of mass, fields, and kinetic energy) are counterbalanced by negative contributions associated with the gravitational field. This does not contradict fundamental laws of nature. The mass – energy equivalence law remains valid: mass is still equivalent to energy, and the creation of mass does not imply arbitrary appearance of positive energy outside the equations. The law of local conservation of energy and momentum, as formulated in general relativity, holds: no spontaneous loss or creation of energy – momentum occurs in any local region of spacetime. Einstein’s equations are also not violated – the balance of positive and negative contributions emerges as a solution to these equations under the chosen boundary conditions.
However, it should be noted that the energy of the gravitational field in general relativity cannot be unambiguously localized; its evaluation uses global constructions and special definitions (for example, ADM energy for asymptotically flat spaces) or relies on specific boundary conditions. Therefore, the statement that “the total energy of the universe is zero” is correct only within a particular model and chosen method of calculation, and this should not be forgotten when approaching the issue critically.
The combination of the tunneling mechanism and the zero-energy concept provides a mathematically consistent scenario. A quantum transition from a state in which space and time are absent generates a finite volume of spacetime filled with matter and radiation. In this emergent configuration, the positive energy of matter is automatically balanced by the negative gravitational energy, so the total energy remains zero. Thus, the birth of the universe is described not as “taking energy from nowhere” but through calculations of amplitudes and energy contributions. This process can be schematically reduced to three stages: (1) a quantum tunnel from “nothing” creates a small fragment of the universe; (2) particles and fields (positive energy) materialize within it, while the geometry contributes negative gravitational energy; (3) with successful compensation, a stable universe of zero total energy emerges.
Quantum amplitudes provide only a nonzero, but generally very small, probability of nucleation20. Most “attempts” at universe creation are either reversible or generate unstable configurations that immediately collapse back. However, statistically, even a single successful realization is sufficient: the emergence of at least a few “bubble” universes is guaranteed. Among them, our universe corresponds to a “fortunate” case – it has grown stably and evolves into the cosmos we know. Such a qualitative selection (“the anthropic principle” in the broad sense) means that we observe precisely the universe in which complex structures and observers could arise, even though it is extremely improbable among the infinite set of fluctuations.
According to quantum field theory, the vacuum is the ground state of quantized fields with minimal possible energy, but it is not completely empty. Due to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, short-lived energy fluctuations occur as virtual particle – antiparticle pairs continuously appear and annihilate. Usually, these pairs quickly vanish, “returning” their energy to the vacuum without disturbing the overall balance. However, occasionally an exceptional fluctuation occurs, with very high local energy and order. Such a fluctuation can give rise to a stable region – the embryo of a future universe. If the bubble volume exceeds a critical radius, it no longer collapses and begins to expand exponentially: its own space expands autonomously, engulfing more surrounding vacuum and initiating inflation. Ultimately, the entire observable cosmos forms from a statistically extremely rare but allowed quantum anomaly.
Thus, assuming the formal definition of “nothing” as zero geometry, quantum mechanics allows constructing a self-consistent picture: from “absolute nothing,” a bubble of spacetime arises with positive matter energies compensated by negative gravitational energy, summing to zero. Multiple fluctuations and statistical selection explain why we find ourselves in the one stable universe where observers could emerge.
The already existing universe then evolves according to the laws of thermodynamics. According to the second law, any isolated physical body (or system) tends toward the most probable macroscopic equilibrium state – maximum entropy. The directional tendency of entropy toward equilibrium is the universe’s fundamental “task,” with interesting implications. For instance, the concept of time is closely linked to entropy. We perceive the arrow of time: events unfold in one direction rather than the reverse. Many philosophers and physicists believe this phenomenon arises from the entropy gradient. Current understanding holds that the universe’s entropy was extremely low at the beginning and has been continuously increasing ever since. The standard interpretation is that “earlier moments in time are simply moments of lower entropy.” In this way, the direction of time can be “eliminated” as a fundamental property: it coincides with the direction of increasing entropy. If entropy were somehow to decrease (practically impossible), our perception of time could reverse. Alternatively, some approaches in quantum gravity suggest that time itself may be emergent or unnecessary at a fundamental level.
A similar “primary” role is attributed to information and matter. John Wheeler, in the “It from bit” hypothesis, asserts that the physical reality of the “bit” is primary, and matter can be seen as emerging from sufficient information. By this logic, everything we consider material (vacuum, fields, particles) is essentially wrapped in informational structures, making matter effectively materialized information. Here, information is defined in the Shannon sense as a measure of system uncertainty: Shannon entropy equates to the amount of uncertainty in a message. Landauer’s principle, formulated in 1961 by Rolf Landauer, states that in any computational system, regardless of its physical realization, the erasure of 1 bit of information releases heat. In simpler terms, when information is erased, the entropy of the system (or environment) increases, consistent with the second law of thermodynamics. Energetically inert or non-self-sustaining structures exemplify this process perfectly.
It is worth noting that the use of the term “non-living” here indicates a distinction among systems with common roots. To avoid speculative conflation of living and non-living systems, I will use the neutral term “structures,” emphasizing only the qualitative differences in their organization: physical systems inherently tend toward the decay of order. According to the second law, every physical body “ages”: metals rust, chemical compounds break down, hot bodies cool and evenly distribute heat. Over time, all closed systems approach thermodynamic equilibrium – a state of maximum entropy and maximum uncertainty. Even atoms and molecules are not eternal: many nuclei are radioactive and decay spontaneously, releasing energy and increasing the number of accessible states of the system (energy gradients are leveled). On an astrophysical scale, this is manifested in the life cycles of stars: first stable structures form (e.g., a stable star), then after fuel exhaustion, decay – a supernova or collapse into a black hole – leads to a final increase in the universe’s entropy. These processes underline the inevitable loss of information in any physical system over time.
Highly ordered informational structures, what we call “living,” are collections of physical objects maintaining themselves only through continuous exchange of matter and energy with the environment. Evolution has selected mechanisms allowing living beings to resist increasing entropy: for example, replication of DNA and regeneration systems maintain informational stability of the species. Yet evolution proceeds through random “failures” – mutations, which are manifestations of entropic chaos in genetic code. Mutations are inevitable disruptions in the transmission of hereditary information – eventually leading to organismal death, but precisely through this destructive process, new variants arise that are temporarily resilient to further degradation. Selection preserves these randomly emergent organisms. Thus, life as a whole is an arena of constant struggle against entropy, in which new informational structures arise within destructive processes. For highly ordered informational structures, the destruction of information is compounded by the tragedy of the struggle to preserve it, where the frameworks for storing and transmitting information (