> What is Tipler's Omega Point Theory....in 100 words or less?
As the universe begins to collapse back on itself towards the Big Crunch,
intelligent life can manipulate the collapse in order to extract shear
energy, which can be used for information processing. If this is done in
the right way the amount of processing (and hence "subjective time") can
diverge as the universe collapses, and in the limit the amount of
information stored and processed becomes infinite, the Omega Point. The
Omega Point Theory is a falsifiable form of this scenario, which says that
the Omega Point is not just possible but also *necessary*, a boundary
condition of the universe.
[That was exactly 100 words. A suggestion: maybe we should try to define
all the "big" terms we use in 100 words or less and try to create a
transhuman dictionary?]
To learn more about the OPT, take a look at my page at
http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Global/Omega which contains a more detailled
treatment and critique of the OPT. Generally speaking, I like the
scenario but I think the OPT per se is flawed.
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Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension!
nv91-asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~nv91-asa/main.html
GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y