> [...]
> ...assume that there is Some Big Smart Entity out there...
> [...]
I think some of us are a bit too hasty to dismiss the possible
existence of Some Big Smart Entity. Given reasonable assumptions, the
present existence of such an Entity is inescapable. If you believe that:
1) Evolution to unlimited power and intelligence has a nonzero
probability of occuring, given a reasonably complex universe;
and
2) Reasonably complex universes have existed, at least
occasionally, throughout an infinite past;
(It seems unlikely that our own Big Bang could have been the
only one to ever occur.)
and
3) Given infinite past time, anything having a nonzero probability
will have happened;
it follows logically that
4) Evolution to unlimited power and knowledge has already happened.
That is, the "Big Smart Entity", or "God", or whatever you want
to call Hir, does in fact exist.
Forget the Ontological, Cosmological, and Teleological Arguments.
The Evolutionary Argument for the Existence of God rules.
Now the really interesting question:
Why, after infinite past time, with Some Big Smart Entity having
surely evolved by now, do we find ourselves in a universe with more
than a sextillion stars wastefully dissipating their energy; i.e. a
universe full of chaos and entropy?
This is, perhaps, an extrauniversal extension of Fermi's Paradox: a
typical intergalactic civilization should be able to do a great deal to
control cosmic entropy, slapping Dyson spheres around all those stars
to prevent their waste of energy and whatnot. So why do we live in such
a wasteful galaxy, among so many other wasteful galaxies? As Fermi
asked, "Where are they?" And why aren't they cleaning things up?
Going on to consider the likelihood that Big Smart Entities of
unlimited power and intelligence exist, somewhere, having had infinite
past time in which to develop, why haven't they organized all of
Reality by now?
Possible types of explanations: they can't organize all of Reality;
they don't care to organize all of Reality; or they in fact don't
exist.
1) Big Smart Entities (BSEs) are incapable of influencing this
universe. This would imply that
1a) There has been as yet no evolution to unlimited power and
intelligence in this particular universe.
and
1b) BSEs that evolve in other spacetime bubbles are forever
confined to those bubbles, no matter how far they advance in
power and intelligence, so that they are incapable of influencing
All of Reality in general, and our universe in particular.
That is, there are in fact some ultimate limits to the
implementation of power and intelligence.
In addition to being a bit depressing, I find (1b) implausible.
Even our lowly pre-interstellar race is beginning to conceive of
theoretical possibilities for wormholing out of this spacetime bubble.
2) BSEs are able but not willing to impose order on our universe.
Perhaps they find universes full of entropy interesting to watch
from time to time. Perhaps they are completely involved in virtual
realities, completely unconcerned with our universe.
I have trouble with this explanation as well. Given infinite past
time and infinitely many universes, BSEs will have evolved not once,
but (if allowed by previous BSEs) infinitely many times. If only *one*
of them wants to impose order on our messy spacetime bubble, it will
have been done.
3) Perhaps Reality is not infinite after all, and no BSE has yet
evolved - i.e., perhaps there was an Ultimate First Event a finite
number of events ago, with not enough time yet for a BSE to evolve.
Again, I have a hard time with this possibility. An Ultimate Limit
on past events just seems counterintuitive to me.
But this seems to exhaust the possible types of explanation.
So, in sympathy with Fermi, I'm wondering not only "Why are there no
signs of extraterrestrial extropic activity?" but, even more,
"Where are the infinitely advanced extrauniversal intelligences?"
Why, after infinite time for power/intelligence to evolve, does a big
chunk of Reality remain out of control?
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-Ric Meisner
Meisner@ACT-ACT5-PO.ACT.ORG
"And they conversed together in Visionary forms dramatic which bright
Redounded from their Tongues in thunderous majesty, in Visions,
In new Expanses, creating exemplars of Memory and of Intellect,
Creating Space, Creating Time"
-William Blake, _Jerusalem_
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