[ExI] BICEP2 and the Fermi paradox

[Mike Dougherty]

On Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 6:41 PM, Tomaz Kristan <protokol2020 at gmail.com>wrote:

> > So this predicts that a random observer should predict he is in a
> simulation of an early interval.
>
> Then, he must also predict, that his simulator is also simulated! And so
> on, through all the turtles/simulators?
>
>
If the universe is a simulation, is there a base hardware for computing the
sims?

I like the "turtles all the way down" to describe the recursion, but it
doesn't satisfy the base condition (that's the point, right?)

I wonder if this concept will actually survive serialization to words,
though I'd be happy if anyone confirmed:

Programmers/CS talk about arrays as 2 dimensional but the memory for a 2d
array is really 1 dimension.  It's pretty simple math for the mapping
function to get the 1d address of a 2d array [j,k] :   j * kmax + k
(assumes 0-based indexes)   This function generalizes for higher/more
dimensions mapping down to 1d memory addresses.  No doubt actual
implementations of large (and sparsely populated) arrays use some internal
representation that is a much more efficient use of space, but let's agree
that space is cheaper than cleverness.

I'm going to jump over the 2d, 3d mappings and go right to holographic
principle.  I'm also going to assume everyone here already knows what
that's about (or can look it up).

I'd like to propose that information density is a feature of any given
volume of space.  Is expansion is a result of increased information content
or is entropy a result of expansion.  While information is computed, new
information is generated (ex: metadata,intermediate results, etc)  I think
it's obvious this becomes unwieldy in much the same way a base1 number
system is unwieldy.  So Intelligence (capitalization denoting requisite
handwaving of definitions) applies some externalization of meaning into a
computation protocol.

A network router doesn't need to "understand" the entire payload of a
packet of data; only the relevant headers.  I wonder if the Intelligence(*)
computing the sim(s) can defer meaning of various information densities in
a layer-independent and application agnostic way.

We may be looking at the information in our local region of spacetime and
pondering the Fermi paradox simply because we're unaware of the correct
protocol to understand the communication that is literally all around us.
I imagine looking at any individual packet from among the trillions flowing
over the Internet at any given moment would appear to be unintelligible
noise without knowing the TCP/IP protocol.  Even with that bit of
information, encrypted content (SSL, etc.) is intentionally meaningless
without prior knowledge of externalized context.

I think the same information protocol problem exists in understanding the
genome.  Portions that were once referred to as "junk DNA" has been found
to be functional/important.

META:  my experience with computer science and networking frames my
thinking (about thinking/AI/etc) in these terms.  Max Tegmark arrived at
his Level IV universe through a cosmological experience/background.  I
suspect many other disciplines might lead to similar conception of these
platonic forms.  (including Greek philosophy from two millennia ago)
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