What is the Universe made of ? We are now in a position to answer precisely about the proportions. This is the Cosmic Camembert:
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| The composition of the Universe, after the analysis of the Planck ESA mission |
Using the equivalence of mass and energy, as described by Einstein's famous E=mc² equation, measurements of the cosmic microwave background allow us to indirectly "weigh" the universe. Today, the Universe is mostly made of dark energy, which behaves like a cosmological constant. Next comes cold dark matter, which only interacts with other matter via gravity. Finally, ordinary matter (stars, planets, gas, rocks, life and us) makes up less than 5% of the total. Radiation accounts for just 0.001%. Even in the 5% where all interactions (electroweak and strong) occur (other than gravity), only a small proportion ends up in galaxies. Overall, the universe can be considered almost oblivious to the rocky planet on which life and humanity exist. This is the inefficiency of the First Evolution.
Life is inefficient, too. In order to ensure the survival of its species, a tree must scatter countless seeds every year. And 99% of the species have vanished from the Earth. Less than 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The rest is known as 'junk DNA' or 'dark DNA'. A final example, the eye proceed from an awful design if we listen to engineers. Indeed, the wiring (the optical nerve) is going out from the retina through the vitreous body, i.e. by masking some light, in particular via the blind spot.
The jury is still out on the Third Evolution. We can think of inequalities as a kind of inefficiency. In that case, the Third Evolution is still very inefficient. However, efficiency must be evaluated in terms of cost versus benefit. One dimension could be the information-to-energy ratio. Today, we consume much more energy per capita than a few generations ago, but we also process much more information.
In short, the three evolutions are unguided (see a previous post on the blindness of evolutions). Consequently, they are costly and seemingly inefficient.
