Hearing that Max Tegmark joined SIAI’s board reminded me of a top-level post I was thinking of doing. In it, I would present what I think is a very strong but heretofore underemphasized argument for the Mathematical Universe/Level IV Multiverse hypothesis — specifically, an argument for why it is actually a satisfactory answer to the ultimate question of why anything bothers to exist at all — particularly targeted at people who aren’t familiar with it or are skeptical of it (I was in the latter category when I first learned of it, remained there for a couple years, forgot about it, and then unexpectedly convinced myself of it). However: Are there enough people here in either of those categories that this would make for worthwhile discussion, and would that be considered sufficiently on-topic?
I think it’s an aesthetically appealing way of looking at what’s going on, but that it doesn’t help with understanding what’s going on (or what to do with it) in any way.
If you’re referring to the fact that it doesn’t give us any useful information about the contents or laws of this universe, then I agree completely. (If I write this post, then I do intend to acknowledge that, and to discourage calling it a “theory of everything” for that reason.)
Shall I take this as a “no” vote for the “would that be considered sufficiently on-topic?” question? In its defense in that respect, it could be taken as a discussion about the outer limits of what anybody/anything anywhere can understand, and aside from that, it raises some interesting questions about anthropic reasoning.
Hearing that Max Tegmark joined SIAI’s board reminded me of a top-level post I was thinking of doing. In it, I would present what I think is a very strong but heretofore underemphasized argument for the Mathematical Universe/Level IV Multiverse hypothesis — specifically, an argument for why it is actually a satisfactory answer to the ultimate question of why anything bothers to exist at all — particularly targeted at people who aren’t familiar with it or are skeptical of it (I was in the latter category when I first learned of it, remained there for a couple years, forgot about it, and then unexpectedly convinced myself of it). However: Are there enough people here in either of those categories that this would make for worthwhile discussion, and would that be considered sufficiently on-topic?
I think it’s an aesthetically appealing way of looking at what’s going on, but that it doesn’t help with understanding what’s going on (or what to do with it) in any way.
If you’re referring to the fact that it doesn’t give us any useful information about the contents or laws of this universe, then I agree completely. (If I write this post, then I do intend to acknowledge that, and to discourage calling it a “theory of everything” for that reason.)
Shall I take this as a “no” vote for the “would that be considered sufficiently on-topic?” question?
In its defense in that respect, it could be taken as a discussion about the outer limits of what anybody/anything anywhere can understand, and aside from that, it raises some interesting questions about anthropic reasoning.