From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Sat May 03 2003 - 11:15:47 MDT
Lee Corbin wrote,
> Spike writes
>
> > Harvey Stated:
> > > Whole planets will be converted to computers
> > > for some giant tasks, but not every planet.
>
> Why not? At this level of technology, everyone can
> be emulated, and so why shouldn't every bit of matter
> within reach be converted to computronium?
As I explained in the parts that got cut out, there are diminishing returns.
We will only convert resources as needed for tasks, and only in the
locations needed. The time delays between our system and another makes a
weaker computer here more valuable to us than a stronger computer over
there. Our weaker computer can calculate an answer in a shorter period of
time then it takes to beam a message to another solar system and get the
answer back. The resources needed to do something locally is a lot less
than building a remote processor and doing something remotely. Therefore,
local processing is most efficient. Costs go up and benefits go down as we
expand our computronium and convert more and more planets.
There are also other cost factors. The molten interior of a planet may
destroy computronium. Cooling costs may make it expensive to convert raw
magma. It may be cheaper to just coat the surface of the earth, but leave
the interior alone. Or, there may be too much interference with the
biosphere. It my be much simpler to spread out among dead asteroids than
trying to keep a stable computer net running in a changing biosphere. In a
cost analysis, some locations are simply more attractive than others. We
will undoubtedly go after the attractive ones.
This is the same reason why we don't cover the entire surface of the earth
evenly, or why we don't consume all biomatter as food evenly, or why
corporations are equally spaced across all cities. Development and
evolution simply don't work that way. Some spots will be prime, others will
be marginally acceptable, and others will remain untouched by computronium.
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, IAM, GSEC, IBMCP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> <www.Newstaff.com>
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