> 1) Big Smart Entities (BSEs) are incapable of influencing this
^^^
And I thought that meant Bovine Spongiforme Enzephalopathy, also known
as Mad Cow Disease. Maybe that's why that thread seems a bit crazy to
me.
If any such entity exists it will not care about your ridiculous
economic thinking, like having the universe full of stars is a waste of
energy. Transcending the human condition implies thinking capabilities
much higher than that of you and me.
Energy and time are the least important values to such an entity.
Information is the most important one. Bringing an universe into "order"
would mean destroying an information source, for no purpose. It's not
the calculating power that counts. If it was, the computers of today
would already rule the world. It's the information processed and the
external sensors that count.
Not infinite power, but infinite knowledge is probably the purpose of
any such entity.
Virtual realities are insufficient if you want to discover physical laws
formerly unknown to you. You can simulate any reality, but if you don't
know the complete physics, you can't simulate the one necessary. You
must do experiments with the "real" reality. Not experiments damaging
it, but watching it with your sensors and taking care of not being
watched.
I am sorry to tell you all those entities will be and are non-Extropian
and non-Libertarian, and they will and do definitely not care about
money or economy. Otherwise, we would not exist.
Erik Moeller