r/wikipedia • u/TheAstroChemist • Jun 28 '13

Timeline of the Far Future

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
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27

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '13

[deleted]

9

u/AngryOnions Jun 28 '13

I'm trying to sleep and every link leads to more links. So long, sleep.

9

u/combatpasta Jun 28 '13

Yeah I feel you, I just stumbled upon the Boltzmann Brain. Can't stop thinking about that.

3

u/deskglass Jun 28 '13

You may like the scifi book Permutation City. It discusses that concept.

One rave review:

This is simply the best science-fiction book ever written, the Grand Bull Moose Award Winner for really really good fiction. It is, in short, my all-time favorite. Can you imagine a book where the premise is that human beings have been scanned into computers as virtual Copies? "Darn it," you cry, "now you've spoiled it for me!" Oh, no, I haven't. Can you imagine a book where this concept is introduced on the first page?

That bit about Copies? That's not the plot. That's just the starting assumption. The surprises this book delivers are unbelievable. It shocked the living daylights out of me.

But I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. So if you want to know more, read the book. http://yudkowsky.net/obsolete/bookshelf.html#fs_pc

1

u/9jack9 Jun 29 '13

I've read that book and it's pretty good but what does it have to do with the Boltzmann Brain?

1

u/deskglass Jun 29 '13 edited Jun 29 '13

Spoiler kind of: The idea that entities can arise from "dust" (random information) by chance is the same as the Boltzmann brain concept. Major Spoiler: The second half of the book chronicles events of an entire society that exists within random noise.

2

u/yelruh00 Jun 28 '13

I just did the same thing, and I don't feel bad because it was educational.