“Why is there Something rather than Nothing” ?

From:

http://kunstler.com/blog/2012/02/the-choices-we-make.htm


Interesting to see the difference between Theoretical Physics and Philosophy - Metaphysics:

Theoretical Physics:

Essentially states How far can we take logical and mathematical structures and still make them somehow be tied up to the real physical world, still have some kind of connection, even though very weak or indirect with physical reality ? An example could be Superstring Theory.

Philosophy and Metaphysics:

Essentially states How far can logical and mathematical structures be pushed operating on items as far removed as possible from the physical world, items as abstract, absurd and impossible as possible, hence having zero connection to the real physical world, but still being connected to each other through any form of logic, mathematical or thought processes and sequences ? An example could be the invention of a new state - meaning - concept expressing it as "the square root of the word thought".

But whereas the theoretical physicist and also the mathematician still has some constraints upon what he can do by some connection, no matter how weak, with the real world, or at least with some possible logic that is somewhat non contradictory and that somewhat still must follow some sense, the metaphysical and philosophical "Inventor" no longer has any constraints whatsoever, is free to investigate anything at all, make up any connections he wants, invent anything he wants, doesn't have any possible constraint operating upon his tasks. But then items as contradictory and absurd as possible can always be connected to each other or invented, just their existence, their delimitation in our mind, their presence already provides them with a minimum of logical and mathematical structure as in order to exist, in order to contain them in our mind, in order to even speak about them they must at least follow the basic principles of identity and non contradiction..


The internal contradiction of the Identity Principle is that in order for two entities to be the same they must be distinguishable as two therefore there must be some difference, some element that distinguishes them and at the same time in order for them to be different there must be some element of the two that are the same in order to even compare them, to even relate them. Some element of the two entities must be exactly the same, equivalent in order to even relate them since any comparison between the two must be hinged on some reference point, some invariant that serves as the starting point, the zero of the coordinate system so to say from which to measure the two and obtain two different measurements and some element must be infinitely different in order to distinguish them, to declare them as two entities upon which the Identity Principle can be declared, the values V1, V2 that are plugged into the function "Identity Principle(V1, V2)".

So they are the same and different at the same time, a pure total contradiction, thought paths and processes break down, logic breaks down, this is the end of the line for our Man Brain as it is presently configured and designed. You must change the design of the present Man Brain to eliminate the contradiction...

Also, time is the constant change of the configuration of bits describing the entire universe, and since this configuration is always changing no matter what, in a sense time travel is impossible because each time instant is one configuration of bits that will never come back again and can never be obtained again, each instant is a unique number that can never be written down again no matter what, a fleeting number that was and will never be again no matter what, no matter how infinite the universe is in size and time or anything else, infinity in time and space and anything cannot ever make that fleeting instant appear again, no matter what. So this can be a definition of time.

Of course you can locally configure the bits of a chunk of matter in a cube to be exactly like New Jersey in 1953 with all the people there and reproduce the exact same "Information Relationships" between people and their minds and memories and all and actually really travel back in time, at least as far as our Man Brain experience can tell and distinguish (let alone play around with it inserting new memories and mixing different time slots and elements, different time periods (a year 2000 model car in NJ of 1953 and such) to see how people react and such). But the chunk of matter in the cube that is configured accordingly to make believe and simulate that it is an environment that "once was" is delimited in space, maybe a chunk of matter, a cube of matter 100 km wide and long and high where the simulation of that exact past is being performed in such a way that the actors within that "fake past" could never tell that they are in a fake reality, since the only thing that counts is the Experience and Reciprocal Information Relationships between the actors and their interaction with the material items and people surrounding them. However, outside of the cube of matter playing out the simulation, time would still be flowing forward, the configuration of the universe as a whole would still be ever changing, just that cube would be repeating a sequence that was performed previously for only some very small and insignificant subset of the universe as a whole, a small chunk of matter returning back to a configuration it once had, but only for that very small chunk of matter, it can easily be done and performed and played out. So it wouldn't contradict the laws of the never returning numbers again.

That would beg the question: is there a metaphysical entity, property of matter that makes it deeply different from itself, from another configuration of matter exactly equivalent, mathematically equivalent being billions of light years across, even if just one photon millions of light years away is different as compared to an exactly equivalent chunk of matter inside a cube of hundreds of millions of light years across ? In other words, take two cubes of matter 100 million light years wide and high and long, make them 100 % exactly equivalent and then change just one photon: does that change the two chunks in such a way as to express the flow of time ? is time hinged only on change no matter how small, and change is constant if only because particles are never at thermal rest ?



“Why is there Something rather than Nothing” ?

What are the constraints ? What reference system is imposing what constraints on reality, the universe, its design, its logic, etc. ? None, and in fact questions like this imply some external, more general reference system where some kinds of laws or logic, some constraints are operating such that there must be some kind of logical answer: nothing further from the truth, the more general reference system, the superset where the universe or/and our logic, language, or the Principles of Identity and Non Contradiction are operating is a subset of, is a system where absolutely anything goes: even an answer like "NO REASON AT ALL", or "JUST BECAUSE" or anything else you can imagine.

The fact is we cannot imagine or contain a reference system that doesn't have logic, non contradiction and is void of cause and effects, whereas this is exactly the reference system where the universe and our laws of physics are delimited in: and this reference system is so general that it has no space or time constraints, no existence constraints, no constraints at all, or constraints which are way beyond our capability to conceive: and in fact the typical answers such as the "higher probability of something against nothing is the reason why there is something" implies that you are already within a smaller, simpler, more limited subset and reference system compared to a free and non constraining general reference system, implies that cause and effect and non contradiction are operating, but that already simply brings us back to our universe anyways, whereas the answer to why there is something and not nothing is outside of our logic and universe and even outside of any of our language and constructions and thought processes and such. In other words, it is even outside of the concepts of Questions and Answers, the question can have any and no answer at all, and you are free to lie, as saying non truths and lies and contradictions is the only way to begin to approach these kinds of problems, if they are even problems, if they are even questions and such.

Hence, why something and not nothing ? Just Because, FOR NO REASON AT ALL.

To Be Sure...

The basic idea is that intelligence is not needed for a singularity, and no scientific knowledge is needed: the singularity will be achieved by direct manipulation of the mind, it is not dependent on a linear accumulation of knowledge on how the brain works, and the brain to experience the new singularity does not have to be intelligent at all, it has to be a different entity than what we would consider a brain, cannot be understood or explained from our reference point because it has nothing to do with any of our reference points: it is another entity in a new other universe living or experiencing a new life (if it can even be called life).

The manipulation of the brain can also be through direct thought and the brain can lie to itself to any extent: the point is that up until now the world has been decoded and understood with the brain and its sense organs and organization being an INVARIANT and a static structure while the outside world was being manipulated (the traditional scientific - pattern searching method, the evolution - progress of knowledge), but the new Instant Singularity will change the very item that is measuring and perceiving the outside world.

Change the invariant nature of the brain and you change the universe. So open brains - minds, change the neural circuits, add wild chemicals and the Instant Singularity will occur.

Of course, the method of manipulation of the brain could be through thought only, after all what difference does it make, and then one model the mind has of itself that modifies another part of itself according to how it imagines it will react ? but if the "model - mind" is invented and if it lies to itself ? is the model the invention ? is it real or is it not ? At this point you also have the complete breakdown of science, of any possible science and logic....

Maybe the singularity is the thought and idea itself of the singularity, the singularity creates itself by thinking itself into existence ....

To be sure:

Why must the machines become "smarter" and "smarter" ? What exactly does "smart" or intelligence really mean ? It is a concept that makes sense only to how our body - minds are configured and how they interact with matter - reality on this planet.

But the classical Technological Singularity model where a computer becomes smarter up to the point of designing one that is smarter than itself, implies that intelligence is necessary to achieve some form of "transcendence" into a higher mind - experience.

I debate this point and consider it as completely wrong: we need intelligence and smart to solve our only local , quirky problems associated with how our minds are designed and operate, and how they decode reality and how we interact with matter accordingly. But a smarter computer or modified mind can simply achieve a state where it no longer has any problems to solve and can enter simple "pleasure loops", or states of meditations or experiences that have nothing to do with "problem" solving or figuring out how to manipulate biology to achieve immortality. Aside from the fact that said super smart computers or brains may not even have any of these goals in mind, but their goals and their decoding of reality may not have anything to do with any form of logic - intelligence and problem solving whatsoever.

So a modified mind, either by kind of guessing how to do it scientifically and logically, or by randomly changing the neural circuits, how they are connected to memory - emotions, or even completed by blind chance and completely chaotically (stick the wires in the brains, send signals, dump wild chemicals inside it) may bring that mind - brain into a new universe and state of experience that is under all accounts like a singularity from our reference points and measuring points: we have no idea and can never have any idea what is going on in said new minds unless we are exactly those new minds.

Anyways, intelligence is greatly overrated as it is simply a small self referencing language humans use to manipulate their perceived - arbitrary reality. There are millions of other realities and universes modified brains - minds (maybe with computer chips inside them also) live in that we cannot know.

Instant Singularity 3

From:

http://www.ilovephilosophy.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=172275


Instant Singularity - part 3

The old fashion Technological Singularity that thought that computers (or minds) smart enough to design smarter minds would trigger a progress forever into an incommunicable and unknown world is no longer valid and necessary for the Singularity to occur: it can occur by direct manipulation of the mind - brain, leapfrogging any science and technology to make things "smart". Smart is not needed, the new experience is the only goal, so those that started with LSD have already been closer to the Singularity by decades.

So given that science and technology have finished progressing, and given that the Technological Singularity that will occur will happen by sticking wires and signals, chips and wild chemicals in brains and minds in an extremely chaotic and haphazard way, as confusing and "wrong" as possible and completely ignoring any logic and science as possible, we can now proceed to examine the third step: namely thought induced singularities.

The last thought that a mind will have is the thought that self manipulates itself into infinity and oblivion. How the mind is modified, whether through logic and science manipulating the neural circuits according to some imaginary models of the mind or by directly sticking wires and signals in the ball of meat that is the brain - skull, or by pouring wild chemical in the mind, or by any random - fluke - quirk combination of all of the above is besides the point: what is important is that the mind - brain changes its form, architecture, its emotional - memory -pain/pleasure and logic circuits, its sense organs, invented new sense organs, its organization in any new of an infinite array of new formats and encodings.

So even thought and meditation can be used, direct thoughts manipulating the organization of the mind - brain. Lies are accepted, in fact the mind lying to itself is one of the most powerful techniques that can be used, since in the end only the mind itself confirms if something is true, it can assign any truth since it measures its own construction and the reality principle is no longer valid in variant minds that no longer are forced to follow any logic.

So this is where the Technological Singularity has occured, occurs and will occur.