What Will Change Everything?

[Ihateyoumike]

...in the sense that when i was little I use to boggle my mind by thinking about the vastness of space.

Don't know what you're talking about here, because I still do.  

I don't know if I'll ever be able to get my mind completely around that one.

[Miss Anthrope]

...in the sense that when i was little I use to boggle my mind by thinking about the vastness of space.

Don't know what you're talking about here, because I still do.  

[karadan]

...in the sense that when i was little I use to boggle my mind by thinking about the vastness of space.

Don't know what you're talking about here, because I still do.  

I like to envisage the universe as a Klein Bottle. It makes it far easier on the brain. Otherwise, it is like trying to imagine what it is like to be dead. The brain cannot cope.

[Miss Anthrope]

I like to envisage the universe as a Klein Bottle. It makes it far easier on the brain. Otherwise, it is like trying to imagine what it is like to be dead. The brain cannot cope.

I've thought of it that way before (admittedly not "on my own", I've read things that made that connection). It certainly does help as far as providing a rudimetnary visual, but the Klein bottle concept itself is pretty bizarre. Whenever I start thinking along these lines, I just hit a wall and reality makes about as much sense as religion in some ways. This actually has a lot to do with why I'm on the agnostic end of atheism.

[karadan]

I like to envisage the universe as a Klein Bottle. It makes it far easier on the brain. Otherwise, it is like trying to imagine what it is like to be dead. The brain cannot cope.

I've thought of it that way before (admittedly not "on my own", I've read things that made that connection). It certainly does help as far as providing a rudimetnary visual, but the Klein bottle concept itself is pretty bizarre. Whenever I start thinking along these lines, I just hit a wall and reality makes about as much sense as religion in some ways. This actually has a lot to do with why I'm on the agnostic end of atheism.

I guess it just boils down to how it is explained to you. I used to have a hard time understanding the concept of the fourth dimension until i saw this vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaKzQNl ... re=related

The way it is explained just seemed to fit with me. I now have a far easier time trying to visualise this concept. I like brain fodder like this.

[Miss Anthrope]

I guess it just boils down to how it is explained to you. I used to have a hard time understanding the concept of the fourth dimension until i saw this vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaKzQNl ... re=related

The way it is explained just seemed to fit with me. I now have a far easier time trying to visualise this concept. I like brain fodder like this.

Hey karadan, thanks for the link, it had a few examples that I hadn't seen before. Didn't really help with my overall confusion, though, which I meant in more of "big picture" way. The actual concepts don't boggle my mind (too much), I've seen a lot of material dealing with the dimensions. It's the implications many theories have in terms of our reality that makes me hit walls. For instance, some cosmologists now think that the third dimension is like a holographic image being "projected" from a massive 2d surface (in a sense, the "edge" of the universe) and then there's the recent discovery that photons can communicate at least 100,000 times the speed of light - http://www.physorg.com/news137937526.html

When forced to consider that space & time are even less important than we already know, I start to also wonder if all the scientific knowledge in the world would really help me understand reality in the purest sense of the word. Everything just seems...absurd.

[karadan]

I guess it just boils down to how it is explained to you. I used to have a hard time understanding the concept of the fourth dimension until i saw this vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaKzQNl ... re=related

The way it is explained just seemed to fit with me. I now have a far easier time trying to visualise this concept. I like brain fodder like this.

Hey karadan, thanks for the link, it had a few examples that I hadn't seen before. Didn't really help with my overall confusion, though, which I meant in more of "big picture" way. The actual concepts don't boggle my mind (too much), I've seen a lot of material dealing with the dimensions. It's the implications many theories have in terms of our reality that makes me hit walls. For instance, some cosmologists now think that the third dimension is like a holographic image being "projected" from a massive 2d surface (in a sense, the "edge" of the universe) and then there's the recent discovery that photons can communicate at least 100,000 times the speed of light - http://www.physorg.com/news137937526.html

When forced to consider that space & time are even less important than we already know, I start to also wonder if all the scientific knowledge in the world would really help me understand reality in the purest sense of the word. Everything just seems...absurd.

Indeed. As you go deeper and deeper into the realms of reality, it no longer 'seems' absurd but actually is absurd hehe. I think the human race will hit a wall fairly soon anyway because i doubt any single human brain will be able to comprehend the stuff they are trying to conceive. We already take many theories for granted - theories which have initially been thought up by people like Hawkins or Higgs but at some point even their intellect won't actually be able to visualise the concepts their mathematics (or metamathematics) creates for them.

Thanks for that link by the way. that is super interesting.

[Miss Anthrope]

Indeed. As you go deeper and deeper into the realms of reality, it no longer 'seems' absurd but actually is absurd hehe. .

Good point! I should change my world-view description from "Free-thinker" to "Absurdist"  Seriously though, I love it. I think it would be boring if we really understood everything, I mean, a good portion of media I enjoy is in the "mystery" category.

[karadan]

Indeed. As you go deeper and deeper into the realms of reality, it no longer 'seems' absurd but actually is absurd hehe. .

Good point! I should change my world-view description from "Free-thinker" to "Absurdist"

[Miss Anthrope]

I'm rather partial to the multiple consecutive concentric universe theory. It is a load of (ninth dimensional) twaddle, but what a fantastically beautiful load of twaddle it is!

I had to google that, and the first relevant link that popped up was actually a thread of your's on this forum, where I found out it was created by Iain Banks (and company).Based on the name, I actually wouldn't have been surprised if I had found out that it was an actual theory put forth by scientists.

After reading your summary, I'd have to concur, it has a certain elegance to it.

[karadan]

I'm rather partial to the multiple consecutive concentric universe theory. It is a load of (ninth dimensional) twaddle, but what a fantastically beautiful load of twaddle it is!

I had to google that, and the first relevant link that popped up was actually a thread of your's on this forum, where I found out it was created by Iain Banks (and company).Based on the name, I actually wouldn't have been surprised if I had found out that it was an actual theory put forth by scientists.

After reading your summary, I'd have to concur, it has a certain elegance to it.

Tee hee. I'm famous!

[4DeepThought2]

Robots that can think or computers that can think.

[Steve Reason]

Robots that can think or computers that can think.

How do you know we don't already have those??  :upset:

Dick implants that look real.

An effective narcotic painkiller without side effects.  

[karadan]

I just thought of a new one.

Super-strong materials strong enough to create a viable orbital tether or artificial habitat (ring world)

Space would become so much more accessible with an orbital tether.

[Ayreon]

I would say, being able to see the things in between.