The universe is made up of instant connections between events related by the speed of light. The new unfolding interactions have to comply with the constraints that previous interactions laid through spacetime, while they must also be consistent among themselves in order to emerge. Every entity existing in the universe is just a pattern of these instant but light-like interactions, and we can further divide these interactions into two types: internal interactions (which are essential to create the entity's spatial structure) and external interactions (which inform it about everything existing out there). Together, these two types of light-like interactions comprise the entire universe for each entity each time.
In my article: https://medium.com/@quantumwormholes/the-universe-explained-7df2cf8ced90 I define four types of "observers" in the universe, based on the ratio between internal and external interactions that influence or condition which interactions unfold next.
- Passive observers would be those that are just a consequence of the causal evolution of the universe. Passive observers have no agency or control over what happens, and they just persist in time because the external circumstances allow.
- Reactive observers are networks of particles that can detect some property or phenomenon in the environment, and react to it following very basic routines. They mostly decide what to do using simple if-then conditions, and behave one way or the other depending on the patterns and recurrences they are “programmed” to detect (either by pure chance, or intentionally by others). Reactive observers wait aimlessly until some condition or event triggers action.
- Active observers are able to create simple internal representations of past spatial configurations in their minds. They encode past events as patterns that persist inside their brains. They are able to “observe” time by transforming the consequences of physical change into memories. They understand cause and consequence, and experience the flow of time. Active observers have a limited amount of agency, and can anticipate or plan very basic sequences of events.
- Aware observers are able to create toy models of the universe in their minds. Not limited by the rules of reality, they can create all kinds of crazy relations with concepts and ideas. They can simulate reality, or create any imaginary world they please. But some insights from these internal representations can be applied to the real world. They can take advantage of the patterns and recurrences they are able to detect, increasing the probabilities of getting certain outcomes by arranging particles in specific ways, preparing the conditions that would make the intended result and interactions emerge more probably. Aware observers adapt the environment to suit their needs to the best of their knowledge and abilities. They can encode their memories and thoughts not only inside their minds, but as persisting patterns in the environment.
And just by coincidence (or is it?), Schrödinger included these four types of observers in his famous cat experiment (the radioactive particle would be type 1, the poisson's release mechanism type 2, the cat type 3, and the human observer type 4).
