From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Wed Apr 16 2003 - 21:24:05 MDT
--- "Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" <sentience@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> Actually, Vinge's way-back original definition was that the
> Singularity was the breakdown in our PRESENT MODEL of the
> future occurring when we, ourselves, attempt to extrapolate our
> models past the point where they predict the rise of greater-than-
> human intelligence. The laws of physics don't break down at the
> center of a black hole, but our *model* of physics does. The more
> I think about this the more I realize that Vinge got his original
> definition exactly right on the very first try and it is superior
> to all later misinterpretations including my own. Though the
> superintelligent transition Anders refers to runs a close second
> (often referred to as "the Singularity" even in Vinge's own later
> work).
All this really describes is a technological event horizon from any
given point of view. Vinge affirmed that this is more properly looked
at as a horizon rather than an actual singularity. The difference is
significant, as significant as a spaceship transiting an event horizon
versus kerplunking a hunk of superdense gravi-matter.
Just as an event horizon of a real black hole is subjective to the
position of the observer (which is why black holes will shrink in
apparent diameter as you approach them), a cave man's event horizon
already occured long ago. Our present day horizon is still a few
decades in the future, but our future selves will see it as slightly
further in the future than that, and so on.
Just as what happens in black holes is likely still limited by some
physical constants like light speed, what happens beyond a
technological event horizon will still be limited by physical
constraints of the real universe, so long as the participants remain
within this universe. Those physical constraints describe the actual
singularity, where you either exit local space or the universe, or
reach a point of stasis (provided you don't get caught in a cycle of
diminishing resources).
=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
- Gen. John Stark
"Pacifists are Objectively Pro-Fascist." - George Orwell
"Treason doth never Prosper. What is the Reason?
For if it Prosper, none Dare call it Treason..." - Ovid
__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Wed Apr 16 2003 - 21:31:41 MDT