Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I don't think it is totally inconceivable You could create a kind of "reverse" grandfather paradox by preventing future events predicted by the simulation from happening. Perhaps it could run fine up to the point that it has to simulate itself, then it would slow down to the point of becoming useless.
Basically the plot of the wonderful TV series "Devs". Well worth the time investment.
The Stick of Jan Sloot (2004)
51–55 of 55 posts
Re: The Stick of Jan Sloot (2004)
#52Re: The Stick of Jan Sloot (2004)
#53I once had an idea for a file transfer system based on digits of pi that sounds the same as this idea. You'd give everybody DVDs of digits of pi (or they could calculate them themselves) , and then transfer files faster by just sending them the offset into pi. At the time I thought it could work with a big enough bank of digits of PI on both sides. If transfer was expensive, and calculating digits was cheap then you…
Neural network encoding seems like the closest thing to that idea that's actually practical.
Re: The Stick of Jan Sloot (2004)
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Quantum mechanics makes this impossible. This would require to know the position and speed of each particle precisely and that is in violation of the Heisenberg principle.
You're figuring that the universe is non-deterministic. If so, yes, this would be a more difficult problem. If the universe is based on some solid deterministic rules with a fixed seed value, then it would work. Quantum events appear non-deterministic, but that might just be because we don't have all the answers right now.
Re: The Stick of Jan Sloot (2004)
#55Inventors are a different animal. One doesn't start with a reasonable theory but one works from the other end, one quite unreasonably starts with what would be wonderful to have. One doesn't test a theory but one ponders how the seemingly impossible might be accomplished which is a problem that can be broken down into more reasonable things until it's impossible component is defined properly so that one may make an o…