X-Message-Number: 30745 From: "John K Clark" <> References: <> Subject: The Singularity Date: Tue, 20 May 2008 13:31:39 -0700 Francois <> Wrote: > there is some evidence that there won't be [a singularity] sort of. > Earth is not the only planet in our galaxy. According to currently > observed planetary systems, most of those planets would be older > than Earth, the greatest rate of planet formation having occured > about 4 to 5 billion years before the Earth formed. This means that > there should be plenty of planets out there who had the opportunity > to evolve sentient life forms that could have gone through a > singularity billions of years before us. We see no evidence of the > super galaxy spanning civilization that would have resulted from > such an event. Therefore we can conclude that no civilization in > our galaxy ever reached the singularity, or that none has survived > the event. This conclusion is obviously not very solid, but it is > at least based on actual observations. I agree with your observations but not your conclusions. If a there were advanced civilizations you are right, it should be obvious that the universe has been re-engineered, but it is not obvious at all; I conclude that one of two things must be true: 1) We are the first, after all somebody had to be. Life existed on this planet for 4 billion years, it started about as soon as liquid water was available, but intelligent beings are much more recent, only a few hundred thousand years old. Life could be common but mind very rare in the universe, perhaps even unique to this planet. 2) When mind gets too big for its britches it is always destroyed in some sort of trap the nature of which I can only speculate. (There is no reason to think this experiment should be in any way dangerous, so I'll just start it up now and_) If this were to happen it would certainly be a singularity. John K Clark -- John K Clark -- http://www.fastmail.fm - Does exactly what it says on the tin Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=30745