[ExI] How to survive forever

[Natasha Vita-More]

Lloyd's  "[m]erely by existing, all physical systems register information"
links to Lynn Margulis understanding of living matter and also to
cybernetics.  Re information theory: does the physical capacity of the
universe reduce/shrink the more we know about it? 


-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of Anders Sandberg
Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2012 6:05 AM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] How to survive forever

On 15/06/2012 17:30, Anders Sandberg wrote:
>
> The main problem is likely that temperature never gets below
> T_min=10^-19 K due to horizon radiation, and that forces a finite 
> amount of possible computation. Still, that is M_cluster/(kT_min
> ln(2)) irreversible computations (including error corrections) - plus 
> a large number of reversible computations.
>

Ah, forgot a factor of c^2. The right number is c^2 M_cluster/(kT_min
ln(2)).

Using the Virgo cluster and asusming we use the dark matter too, we get
10^15 solar masses, or about 10^45 kg. That will allow around 10^104
computations.

A lot, although far less than Seth Lloyds estimate that the universe so far
has performed 10^120 operations (
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0110141) - but his operations seem to include
reversible ones, which are not covered by the above estimate which is based
on the Brillouin inequality.

-- 
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Philosophy Faculty of Oxford University

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