this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 50 points 5 days ago (5 children)

Also see Dyson's Eternal Intelligence:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson%27s_eternal_intelligence

Basically, if you assume it's possible to upload our intelligence to a computer and run it, then you can keep the energy going to run it for a very, very long time. Well past the heat death of the rest of the universe. It depends on running things in an on and off state to conserve energy for trillions of years. Subjectively, the people in there wouldn't notice that and would simply see their active lifespans go for trillions of years. It's not clear what the limit would actually be.

It's something like Zeno's Paradox. You cut things in half each cycle, but never quite get to zero.

[–] emmanuel_car@fedia.io 25 points 5 days ago (2 children)
[–] WhyIHateTheInternet@lemmy.world 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I like to watch them when I need a good existential crisis

[–] smoker@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

May I introduce you to exurb1a

I know him and have even read all his books

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

I saw that pop up as a recommendation the other day but forgot to watch it until you posted that. Cool video! Weird how they come up with this crazy shit.

[–] salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 15 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I cannot express in words just how much I do not want my consciousness to persist, trapped, for trillions of years of darkness. That would be unimaginable hell.

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 25 points 5 days ago (3 children)
[–] burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de 24 points 5 days ago

I'd delete them at the end of session, like any lemming would.

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 7 points 5 days ago

For there to be cookies one must assume an eternal cookie banner / pop up telling you this site uses cookies.

[–] 0ops@piefed.zip 1 points 5 days ago

There'd only be dark chocolate chip. That's just science

[–] erusuoyera@sh.itjust.works 11 points 5 days ago (1 children)

with only a finite initial store of energy, only a finite number of thoughts can ever be processed. This "thermal death" of the universe prevents the infinite hibernation and computation trick from working, thus rendering Dyson's eternal intelligence scenario impossible in a universe with a positive cosmological constant.

My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Eternity would get boring, a few trillion years would give you plenty of time to not miss out on anything life has to offer

[–] BlueMagma@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 days ago

How would you know ? Maybe life really only gets interesting after trillions of years, and nobody has experienced truly great life yet, who's to say..

[–] puppycat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 4 days ago

that explains Pantheon really well