Self-aware matter?

Something else that struck me whilst I watch Cosmos (read Sunday's post first), something Carl said - we are matter that has become aware of itself. I never really thought of it like that - probably because of my strict religious upbringing.

I spent some time thinking about the implications of that. Matter, the stuff all around us, being organized in such a way that it realizes that it is matter. Heavy elements from burnout stars forming patterns in such a way that the patterns know that they are patterns. Very weird stuff.

I likened it to computer software evolving to the point where it knows it is just computer software. But it is more than that, because software is too high a level to match the fundamental issue of basic particles becoming aware.

Sure, I believe in evolution, species over time drifting in form and function to adapt to the environment. That makes sense and can be proven mathematically. But raw particles gathering together to "know"...

So, what does Know mean? Is it a strange idea or just a human bias? Does all matter know something, and when enough gets together, it knows more? Do we think that only we are aware because we see others like ourselves and we know that we are aware, therefore we assume others are too? But things like whole planets, which have a lot of matter, do they know? I would have to guess that self-awareness is a fundamental property of matter, since like gravity it just doesn't appear without matter. So, planets are aware, they see other planets and know that they are aware, but how do they see us?

The Edward