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If I can't scientifically explain the "why" of each element (if there is a "why"), how does that change the underlying chemistry of mutations?

Perhaps if you were to understand the "why" of the element, you might be able to recognize that there is more to life and the Universe than just elements. In particular, it seems to me there may be a "noetic" structure -- perhaps something like a universally-accessible "information set" or (to put it more fancifully), a kind of "cosmic DNA" -- that structures existents, "according to their available degree(s) of freedom." Matter needs information to "tell" it what to do.

In other words, you need more than matter for an entity to exist in the first place.

It has been conjectured that an atom has (at most) three degrees of freedom, corresponding to the three (ordinary!) spatial dimensions. When atoms combine into molecules, cells, etc., etc., the number of degrees of freedom goes up correspondingly. For great complexity to arise in an organism, there needs to be vastly greater degrees of freedom than what we see at the level of a comparatively "simple" cell. It is thought that self-organizing complexity and emergent behavior can arise once a sufficiently large number of degrees of freedom are available.

I concede this is just a highly interesting (to me) speculation at this point, Patrick. The idea did not originate with me. But I keep seeing it in my dreams, as recently as last night. The frustration arises when I awake, when I realize I do not remember everything I've seen.... I know that's not proof of anything, except that sometimes I have extraordinary and quite lovely dreams about the structure of the Universe. (This has been going on fairly regularly ever since I was first dazzled by the implications of quantum field theory. Here's an interesting tidbit: Universal fields contain an infinite number of degrees of freedom....)

You tell me what this all means! Thanks for writing, Patrick.

[sometimes I have extraordinary and quite lovely dreams about the structure of the Universe.] You tell me what this all means!

I think it means that we need a vacation from all this. Perhaps to one of those quiet little tropical islands, with no internet, no cell phones, and no Fox network. Just the palm trees, swaying gently above, and the waves lapping on the beach. Let the universe worry about itself. It's a big boy, and it will get along just fine.

What a beautiful post at 581! Thank you! I strongly relate to your dreams of the universe, betty boop. I also strongly agree with your observation:

In particular, it seems to me there may be a "noetic" structure -- perhaps something like a universally-accessible "information set" or (to put it more fancifully), a kind of "cosmic DNA" -- that structures existents, "according to their available degree(s) of freedom." Matter needs information to "tell" it what to do.

That is the unresolved issue seldom mentioned in abiogenesis theory!

I also appreciate the very engaging summary of degrees of freedom:

Universal fields contain an infinite number of degrees of freedom.

Indeed as the field exists in all points of space/time.