> So I'm led to ask: Were you an intelligence wandering free and lonely in the
> galaxy, where would you head to meet others? What, in other words,
> constitutes a universal Schelling point?
I think the cruicial word here is 'point' - the place has to be defined
quite strictly, otherwise it will be useless. So the Schelling points
will lie at the points defined by space geography or obvious interest -
near rare and unique astronomical objects, or at places which for one
reason or another are "pointed" out by their surroundings, like maybe the
center of the rosette nebula. Planetary neubulas might work quite well
as neighborhood points.
> I offer a tentative answer: The point where gravitational forces of the
> universe sum to zero--galatic center, if you will.
The next step is to make it clear where to go in the center. As Greg Bear
eloquently describes in his novels, the center is a huge place with room
for much wonder. You might want to set up some lighthouse or other sign
to make beings gather.
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Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
nv91-asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~nv91-asa/main.html
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