April 13, 2008

On the Nature of Time: Implications for Advanced Intelligence and SETI - 'What if what we consider to be "real time" - how fast we move, talk, think - happens to be a glacial pace compared to other lifeforms?'

'I'm not sure if biological intelligent life could have a subjective impression of time on such a scale because of limits to the speed of chemical reactions and the minimum complexity required for intelligence, but if an advanced civilization had made the transition to a non-biological substrate (such as super-computers), it would be conceivable that for them seconds could subjectively be the equivalent of millennia (or more) to us.'

posted by Hank Mabuse 16 years ago
  • ow! too much brain for a lazy sunday morning
  • Our galaxy/universe could very well exist in the groove of the sole of a shoe of some other lifeform. We would be smaller than microscopic. I have been aware of this possibility since I was about thirteen, and I have lived my life accordingly.
  • Well, the way we behave toward our lovely planet, I'm sure the Ceiling Cat thinks we belong on the bottom of some cosmic shoe.
  • This I have always pondered. How can we humans try to attempt to communicate as species, how can we relate to animals like flies that live just days, animals so small they can't comprehend their scale relative to us? And how could we appreciate the attempts at communication of a higher species towards us? What if we interpret those as natural (or supernatural!) phenomena? I poder that as I try not to splash with the faucet's flood an incredibly tiny insect with iridiscent wings that managed to enter the bathroom, as I wash my hands or brush my teeth. All the trouble I take not to kill it as it carelessly flies around the sink. Stupid insect.
  • "What if we interpret those as natural (or supernatural!) phenomena?" This is essentially what Jacques VallĂ©e has been saying for years. I recommend his works highly for those who are looking for an alternative to the failed extraterrestrial hypothesis yet still find UFO phenomena compelling. "All the trouble I take not to kill it as it carelessly flies around the sink. Stupid insect." - I spend an inordinate amount of time & energy trying to save these little fuckers, my attempts usually end in them having broken wings or being eaten by ants. Karma.