“…And as we come to know them here faster and faster, at some point it would seem that we will know everything about everything…” – RJ
Yes, Jim, this is a common belief. “…the ultimate theory of everything.” – RJ And, yes, this has been pursued ‘forever’. However, what has been included in the ‘physical universe’ has changed over time. So, this notion can be applied to numerous different levels. “…If knowing everything were obviously not possible, surely this group would never have begun pursuing that ultimate theory…” – RJ Well, while an apparently plausible belief Jim, again, it is not based upon anything but that, belief. “…As we approach knowing everything the rate of knowledge growth will gradually slow. So by monitoring this rate of growth we should be able to predict when we will know everything. Right?” – RJ Surely this is rhetorical. If not, what would such a belief be based upon? And, EVEN if it were accurate, at the beginning of your post you said “..we (mankind) is coming to know, in a scientific sense, more and more about more and more, and faster and faster…”. So, based upon your first observation, IF any conclusion can be gained, even accepting blindly your last supposition, one would have to conclude that we will never know everything. And, again, even IF we could, the indicators are that such a point in time is far far away. Please do not take any of the above as personal criticism. I merely am looking at the logic used. On Jun 27, 1:20 pm, retiredjim34 <[email protected]> wrote: > Looking back over recent decades it seems clear that we (mankind) is > coming to know, in a scientific sense, more and more about more and > more, and faster and faster. Will there ever come a time when we will > know everything about everything? > I’ve asked a number of people this question, and all say “no.” But it > seems to me that the correct answer is “yes.” Why? > First, I’m talking about knowing all the scientific laws governing > the physical universe – nothing more, nothing less. The physical > universe is immense, but finite. Science has long assumed that the > laws governing our small bit of it are universal; they apply > everywhere in the universe just as they apply here. Given then that > the physical universe is finite, it would seem that the laws governing > it are also finite. And as we come to know them here faster and > faster, at some point it would seem that we will know everything about > everything. > This also seems to me to be consistent with what Einstein and others > have long sought – the ultimate theory of everything. (This effort is > well described by Brian Greene in his book The Elegant Universe.) If > knowing everything were obviously not possible, surely this group > would never have begun pursuing that ultimate theory. > How might we tell when we are approaching the point where we know > everything? I expect the growth of knowledge is gaussian. As we > approach knowing everything the rate of knowledge growth will > gradually slow. So by monitoring this rate of growth we should be able > to predict when we will know everything. Right? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
