The Simplicity-Expressive Power Principle is a law of formal systems, but if the universe itself can be viewed as a kind of computation, then SEPP becomes a candidate for a cosmological principle. It provides a new language for describing the grand narrative of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to its ultimate fate, reframing the roles of entropy, life, and intelligence in this story.

The Big Bang as the Ultimate Simple Axiom

The cosmological standard model describes a universe that began in a state of extremely low entropy. From a SEPP perspective, this initial state can be thought of as the ultimate simple formal system.

• The initial state of the universe, near the Big Bang, was a highly symmetric, homogenous, and simple state. The Kolmogorov complexity of its description, $K(F_{InitialState})$, was remarkably low.
• The "laws of physics" are the simple set of rules that govern the evolution of this system.

The entire history of the universe, from this viewpoint, is the computation of this simple formal system over time. The universe we see today, with its vast, high-entropy complexity—its galaxies, stars, planets, and life—is the output of this cosmic computation. SEPP provides the crucial insight: the low complexity of the initial state did not contain the high complexity of the present. The complexity was generated by the computational process itself. The universe is not just unspooling pre-existing information; it is an engine for creating new, emergent information and complexity.

The Arrow of Time as the Arrow of Complexity

The "arrow of time"—the deep asymmetry between a simple past and a complex future—is one of the greatest mysteries in physics. The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy (disorder) tends to increase, but this doesn't fully capture the growth of structured complexity (like life). SEPP provides a more nuanced, computational arrow of time.

The universe's evolution is a one-way process of increasing both entropy and structural complexity. This process is computationally irreducible. You cannot know the future without running the simulation. This is why time only moves forward: the future is not a pre-existing state to be visited, but a high-entropy state that must be actively computed by the universe. The past is simple because it is the record of the computation that has already been performed; the future is complex and open because it has not yet been computed.

Life and Intelligence as Agents of Complexification

In this cosmic narrative, what is the role of life and intelligence?
SEPP frames life not as a strange, accidental byproduct, but as a central feature of a complexity-generating universe. Life is a new kind of formal system that locally accelerates the process of complexity generation.

• Life as a New Axiom: Biological evolution, based on the formal system of genetics (DNA), introduced a new, more powerful algorithm for exploring the possibility space of matter. It uses a process of replication and selection to build structures of far greater complexity (organisms) than would be likely to arise from purely random physics and chemistry.
• Intelligence as a Meta-Algorithm: Human intelligence represents another phase transition. We are not just complex products of evolution; we are agents who can understand and manipulate formal systems themselves. We can create science, technology, art, and philosophy. Intelligence is the universe's invention of a meta-algorithm—an algorithm for discovering new, powerful algorithms.

We are, in a very formal sense, the universe's own R&D department. Our function in the cosmos is to find and build new, more complex formal systems that have the expressive power to manipulate matter and energy in novel ways, further accelerating the universe's intrinsic tendency toward complexification.

The Ultimate SEPP-Bounded Future

This perspective allows for a speculative but formally grounded vision of the far future. The long-term fate of the universe is often depicted as a grim slide into thermal equilibrium, the "heat death" of maximum entropy and zero structure. SEPP suggests a potential alternative narrative.

The ultimate struggle is between the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which tends to wash away structure into homogenous, high-entropy disorder, and the "law" of complexification, driven by life and intelligence, which uses information to build low-entropy, high-complexity structures.

The long-term future of intelligence in a SEPP-bounded universe is to become cosmic engineers. The goal is to build formal systems of ever-increasing complexity and expressive power, capable of manipulating matter and energy on larger and larger scales. This is a project of "cosmic computation," where intelligence attempts to steer the universe's trajectory away from simple heat death and toward a future of ever-increasing structural and informational richness.

This project is, of course, itself SEPP-bounded. Our intelligence, no matter how advanced, will always be a finite formal system. We can never achieve a "God's-eye view" or a final, complete model of the universe we are trying to shape. Our cosmic engineering will always be an act of piecemeal, iterative construction, a constant struggle against the guaranteed incompleteness of our own knowledge.

Thus, SEPP provides a final, grand synthesis. It is the universal law that binds the logician's desk to the astronomer's galaxy. It defines the limits of a single thought and the ultimate horizon of our cosmic future. It proves that our universe is a place where no final answers are possible, and in doing so, it provides a formal foundation for a universe where the search for knowledge, the act of creation, and the process of becoming are the fundamental, necessary, and infinite realities.