From: David A Musick (davidmusick@juno.com)
Date: Mon Jan 19 1998 - 11:52:32 MST
Tipler's ideas (in _The Physics of Immortality_) depended on the universe
being closed, so that it would re-collapse upon itself, with ubiquitous
life modifying the way it collapsed so that an essentially infinite
amount of energy could be harnessed by life. Now, with the news that the
universe is open and will expand forever (with 95% certainty), it seems
there is no hope for Tipler's ideas to come to pass.
But did his ideas really require that the *entire* universe collapse into
a singularity? Or would it work if only a sufficiently large,
life-filled part of it collapsed into a singularity? What if life does,
as Nick Bostrom suggested, send devices out into the universe which send
matter back to some area. If enough is sent back, the mass will collapse
into a black hole. If life organizes this right, will it be able to
accomplish Tipler's ideas? Is there enough energy in the creation of
this singularity to simulate a universe of infinite (subjective) length,
as Tipler proposes there would be if the entire universe collapsed?
David Musick (DavidMusick@juno.com)
- Continual improvement is the highest good.
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