How do figure out how powerful I am, when my abilities far exceed my knowledge?When traveling to an alternate Earth, how many generations would you have to breed with the natives to prevent inbreeding?How to safely knock someone outHow to safely capture someone when you have super-strengthHow to test a mutant to know all of his/her abilities?How can powerful telekinesis avoid violating Newton's 3rd Law?
A+ rating still unsecure by Google Chrome's opinion
Rebuses around the home
Number in overlapping range
If a person claims to know anything could it be disproven by saying 'prove that we are not in a simulation'?
Telephone number in spoken words
Unconventional examples of mathematical modelling
What is the most difficult concept to grasp in Calculus 1?
Setting up a Mathematical Institute of Refereeing?
What modifiers are added to the attack and damage rolls of this unique longbow from Waterdeep: Dragon Heist?
What would it take to get a message to another star?
Why are electric shavers specifically permitted under FAR §91.21
Sums of binomial coefficients weighted by incomplete gamma
Some pads on a PCB are marked in clusters and I can't understand which one is which
Why aren’t there water shutoff valves for each room?
A man in the desert is bitten by a skeletal animal, its skull gets stuck on his arm
What is the hottest thing in the universe?
Is this bar slide trick shown on Cheers real or a visual effect?
How to gracefully leave a company you helped start?
Would the USA be eligible to join the European Union?
Why aren't rockets built with truss structures inside their fuel & oxidizer tanks to increase structural strength?
What can I do to increase the amount of LEDs I can power with a pro micro?
Because my friend asked me to
When was "Fredo" an insult to Italian-Americans?
Solving pricing problem heuristically in column generation algorithm for VRP
How do figure out how powerful I am, when my abilities far exceed my knowledge?
When traveling to an alternate Earth, how many generations would you have to breed with the natives to prevent inbreeding?How to safely knock someone outHow to safely capture someone when you have super-strengthHow to test a mutant to know all of his/her abilities?How can powerful telekinesis avoid violating Newton's 3rd Law?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
$begingroup$
I've just been transported into a world where I have god-like powers, they are near absolute as far as I can tell, at least I've yet to find their limits.
The guiding principle of my powers seems to be "if I understand it, I can use it."
I want to experiment and figure out the extent of them, but also figure out the physics of this universe to extend my powers (assume physics comparable to our own).
As a fresh graduate of college in a science discipline, I have a broad but not very deep understanding of chemistry, mechanical physics, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.
What would be a well informed testing regiment? What are some of first experiments I should perform to form a solid basis? Optionally later, what shall be my magnum opus? The test that justifies all this time and effort, and what does its results tell me?
META: I am new to this community, I don't know if this questions fits within worldbuilding, if not where would be a better place for it? Or simply a more fitting variant for this community?
super-powers
New contributor
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I've just been transported into a world where I have god-like powers, they are near absolute as far as I can tell, at least I've yet to find their limits.
The guiding principle of my powers seems to be "if I understand it, I can use it."
I want to experiment and figure out the extent of them, but also figure out the physics of this universe to extend my powers (assume physics comparable to our own).
As a fresh graduate of college in a science discipline, I have a broad but not very deep understanding of chemistry, mechanical physics, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.
What would be a well informed testing regiment? What are some of first experiments I should perform to form a solid basis? Optionally later, what shall be my magnum opus? The test that justifies all this time and effort, and what does its results tell me?
META: I am new to this community, I don't know if this questions fits within worldbuilding, if not where would be a better place for it? Or simply a more fitting variant for this community?
super-powers
New contributor
$endgroup$
2
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
I've just been transported into a world where I have god-like powers, they are near absolute as far as I can tell, at least I've yet to find their limits.
The guiding principle of my powers seems to be "if I understand it, I can use it."
I want to experiment and figure out the extent of them, but also figure out the physics of this universe to extend my powers (assume physics comparable to our own).
As a fresh graduate of college in a science discipline, I have a broad but not very deep understanding of chemistry, mechanical physics, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.
What would be a well informed testing regiment? What are some of first experiments I should perform to form a solid basis? Optionally later, what shall be my magnum opus? The test that justifies all this time and effort, and what does its results tell me?
META: I am new to this community, I don't know if this questions fits within worldbuilding, if not where would be a better place for it? Or simply a more fitting variant for this community?
super-powers
New contributor
$endgroup$
I've just been transported into a world where I have god-like powers, they are near absolute as far as I can tell, at least I've yet to find their limits.
The guiding principle of my powers seems to be "if I understand it, I can use it."
I want to experiment and figure out the extent of them, but also figure out the physics of this universe to extend my powers (assume physics comparable to our own).
As a fresh graduate of college in a science discipline, I have a broad but not very deep understanding of chemistry, mechanical physics, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.
What would be a well informed testing regiment? What are some of first experiments I should perform to form a solid basis? Optionally later, what shall be my magnum opus? The test that justifies all this time and effort, and what does its results tell me?
META: I am new to this community, I don't know if this questions fits within worldbuilding, if not where would be a better place for it? Or simply a more fitting variant for this community?
super-powers
super-powers
New contributor
New contributor
New contributor
asked 9 hours ago
TryerTryer
292 bronze badges
292 bronze badges
New contributor
New contributor
2
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago
add a comment |
2
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago
2
2
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago
add a comment |
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Fortunately, you've given us a very important clue when it comes to figuring out the limitations of your new universe - it exist. This lets us apply logic from the fine-tuning problem.
All laws of nature stem from applications of the prior laws, for instance atomic interactions laws can simply be said to be a natural extension of the laws that create them in the first place, i.e. the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Nuclear Force. Right now, we've boiled the forces of the universe down to four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force), and they're theoretically all unified in one force, the single unifying force (which is known as the 'Unified Field Theory').
Now, for a universe to have different laws from out universe, it needs to have a different Unified Field Theory - at which point the universe falls apart. Everything in our universe only works because of how finely tuned the forces are. If gravity was a magnitude stronger or weaker, we wouldn't have stable stars. If nuclear interactions worked differently, elemental atoms couldn't form or interact, depending on the forces. Any change to the Unified Field Theory means that the fundamental laws of the Universe now prohibit existence. That means since your universe exists, it now follows all the rules you know and love.
Is there another possibility? Yes. Since proving negatives is impossible, it's possible that another configuring of the Unified Field Theory could produce a workable universe. But that would be near-incomprehensible. Literally, we're designed to operate in a universe that obeys our laws, and a universe that obeys entirely different laws wouldn't be able to interact with you well. And, even in the event that you somehow could, you'd have to start from scratch. So, either you understand everything, or you understand nothing and are stuck doing everything from ground zero up.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This has a bit of a meta twist to it.
"If I understand it, I can use it" is pretty much the rallying cry of engineers. Once science is understood, it is applied by the engineers. As such, if you undertake many engineering tasks, you can build up confidence that you understand "If I can understand it, I can use it." Yay recursion!
Once that step is complete, you may wish to tackle understanding understanding. That's a monumentally challenging thing. Oddly enough, those who ascribe to "know thyself," have a strange tendency of arguing that anything they want to do is achievable. Food for thought.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
First you need to verify the unaltered physics of your new home. Ideally, someone who does not have god-like powers should recreate Galileo's and Newton's experimental work (pendulums, centripetal force, etc.), while someone performs or researches the equivalent of Tycho Brahe's and Johannes Kepler's observational confirmation of orbital motion and a non-geocentric (or even non-heliocentric) universe.
While that work is going on, you could give someone a jump start on the knowledge to recreate Maxwell's electromagnetic equations, along with Franklin's, Faraday's, and eventually Stinmetz and Tesla's work with electricity and magnetism.
Starting from the knowledge base you describe, all of this should be accomplished (given a reasonable level of recruitment) in a matter of a few years.
The real trick will be biology -- unless you understand biology better than our society, you can't extend your own life to god-like immortality. Better get the smart folks on that one.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is mostly about this. For example in chapter 28 Harry uses his scientific understanding for partial Transfiguration, deemed hitherto impossible:
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore. "It's exactly as he claimed. He simply
Transfigured a part of the subject without Transfiguring the whole.
You say it's really just a conceptual limitation, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, "but a deep one, just knowing it had to be a
conceptual limitation wasn't enough. I had to suppress the part of my
mind that was making the error and think instead about the underlying
reality that scientists figured out."
$endgroup$
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "579"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Tryer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f153036%2fhow-do-figure-out-how-powerful-i-am-when-my-abilities-far-exceed-my-knowledge%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
4 Answers
4
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
Fortunately, you've given us a very important clue when it comes to figuring out the limitations of your new universe - it exist. This lets us apply logic from the fine-tuning problem.
All laws of nature stem from applications of the prior laws, for instance atomic interactions laws can simply be said to be a natural extension of the laws that create them in the first place, i.e. the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Nuclear Force. Right now, we've boiled the forces of the universe down to four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force), and they're theoretically all unified in one force, the single unifying force (which is known as the 'Unified Field Theory').
Now, for a universe to have different laws from out universe, it needs to have a different Unified Field Theory - at which point the universe falls apart. Everything in our universe only works because of how finely tuned the forces are. If gravity was a magnitude stronger or weaker, we wouldn't have stable stars. If nuclear interactions worked differently, elemental atoms couldn't form or interact, depending on the forces. Any change to the Unified Field Theory means that the fundamental laws of the Universe now prohibit existence. That means since your universe exists, it now follows all the rules you know and love.
Is there another possibility? Yes. Since proving negatives is impossible, it's possible that another configuring of the Unified Field Theory could produce a workable universe. But that would be near-incomprehensible. Literally, we're designed to operate in a universe that obeys our laws, and a universe that obeys entirely different laws wouldn't be able to interact with you well. And, even in the event that you somehow could, you'd have to start from scratch. So, either you understand everything, or you understand nothing and are stuck doing everything from ground zero up.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Fortunately, you've given us a very important clue when it comes to figuring out the limitations of your new universe - it exist. This lets us apply logic from the fine-tuning problem.
All laws of nature stem from applications of the prior laws, for instance atomic interactions laws can simply be said to be a natural extension of the laws that create them in the first place, i.e. the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Nuclear Force. Right now, we've boiled the forces of the universe down to four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force), and they're theoretically all unified in one force, the single unifying force (which is known as the 'Unified Field Theory').
Now, for a universe to have different laws from out universe, it needs to have a different Unified Field Theory - at which point the universe falls apart. Everything in our universe only works because of how finely tuned the forces are. If gravity was a magnitude stronger or weaker, we wouldn't have stable stars. If nuclear interactions worked differently, elemental atoms couldn't form or interact, depending on the forces. Any change to the Unified Field Theory means that the fundamental laws of the Universe now prohibit existence. That means since your universe exists, it now follows all the rules you know and love.
Is there another possibility? Yes. Since proving negatives is impossible, it's possible that another configuring of the Unified Field Theory could produce a workable universe. But that would be near-incomprehensible. Literally, we're designed to operate in a universe that obeys our laws, and a universe that obeys entirely different laws wouldn't be able to interact with you well. And, even in the event that you somehow could, you'd have to start from scratch. So, either you understand everything, or you understand nothing and are stuck doing everything from ground zero up.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Fortunately, you've given us a very important clue when it comes to figuring out the limitations of your new universe - it exist. This lets us apply logic from the fine-tuning problem.
All laws of nature stem from applications of the prior laws, for instance atomic interactions laws can simply be said to be a natural extension of the laws that create them in the first place, i.e. the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Nuclear Force. Right now, we've boiled the forces of the universe down to four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force), and they're theoretically all unified in one force, the single unifying force (which is known as the 'Unified Field Theory').
Now, for a universe to have different laws from out universe, it needs to have a different Unified Field Theory - at which point the universe falls apart. Everything in our universe only works because of how finely tuned the forces are. If gravity was a magnitude stronger or weaker, we wouldn't have stable stars. If nuclear interactions worked differently, elemental atoms couldn't form or interact, depending on the forces. Any change to the Unified Field Theory means that the fundamental laws of the Universe now prohibit existence. That means since your universe exists, it now follows all the rules you know and love.
Is there another possibility? Yes. Since proving negatives is impossible, it's possible that another configuring of the Unified Field Theory could produce a workable universe. But that would be near-incomprehensible. Literally, we're designed to operate in a universe that obeys our laws, and a universe that obeys entirely different laws wouldn't be able to interact with you well. And, even in the event that you somehow could, you'd have to start from scratch. So, either you understand everything, or you understand nothing and are stuck doing everything from ground zero up.
$endgroup$
Fortunately, you've given us a very important clue when it comes to figuring out the limitations of your new universe - it exist. This lets us apply logic from the fine-tuning problem.
All laws of nature stem from applications of the prior laws, for instance atomic interactions laws can simply be said to be a natural extension of the laws that create them in the first place, i.e. the Strong Nuclear Force and the Weak Nuclear Force. Right now, we've boiled the forces of the universe down to four fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force), and they're theoretically all unified in one force, the single unifying force (which is known as the 'Unified Field Theory').
Now, for a universe to have different laws from out universe, it needs to have a different Unified Field Theory - at which point the universe falls apart. Everything in our universe only works because of how finely tuned the forces are. If gravity was a magnitude stronger or weaker, we wouldn't have stable stars. If nuclear interactions worked differently, elemental atoms couldn't form or interact, depending on the forces. Any change to the Unified Field Theory means that the fundamental laws of the Universe now prohibit existence. That means since your universe exists, it now follows all the rules you know and love.
Is there another possibility? Yes. Since proving negatives is impossible, it's possible that another configuring of the Unified Field Theory could produce a workable universe. But that would be near-incomprehensible. Literally, we're designed to operate in a universe that obeys our laws, and a universe that obeys entirely different laws wouldn't be able to interact with you well. And, even in the event that you somehow could, you'd have to start from scratch. So, either you understand everything, or you understand nothing and are stuck doing everything from ground zero up.
answered 8 hours ago
HalfthawedHalfthawed
4,7114 silver badges24 bronze badges
4,7114 silver badges24 bronze badges
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This has a bit of a meta twist to it.
"If I understand it, I can use it" is pretty much the rallying cry of engineers. Once science is understood, it is applied by the engineers. As such, if you undertake many engineering tasks, you can build up confidence that you understand "If I can understand it, I can use it." Yay recursion!
Once that step is complete, you may wish to tackle understanding understanding. That's a monumentally challenging thing. Oddly enough, those who ascribe to "know thyself," have a strange tendency of arguing that anything they want to do is achievable. Food for thought.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This has a bit of a meta twist to it.
"If I understand it, I can use it" is pretty much the rallying cry of engineers. Once science is understood, it is applied by the engineers. As such, if you undertake many engineering tasks, you can build up confidence that you understand "If I can understand it, I can use it." Yay recursion!
Once that step is complete, you may wish to tackle understanding understanding. That's a monumentally challenging thing. Oddly enough, those who ascribe to "know thyself," have a strange tendency of arguing that anything they want to do is achievable. Food for thought.
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
This has a bit of a meta twist to it.
"If I understand it, I can use it" is pretty much the rallying cry of engineers. Once science is understood, it is applied by the engineers. As such, if you undertake many engineering tasks, you can build up confidence that you understand "If I can understand it, I can use it." Yay recursion!
Once that step is complete, you may wish to tackle understanding understanding. That's a monumentally challenging thing. Oddly enough, those who ascribe to "know thyself," have a strange tendency of arguing that anything they want to do is achievable. Food for thought.
$endgroup$
This has a bit of a meta twist to it.
"If I understand it, I can use it" is pretty much the rallying cry of engineers. Once science is understood, it is applied by the engineers. As such, if you undertake many engineering tasks, you can build up confidence that you understand "If I can understand it, I can use it." Yay recursion!
Once that step is complete, you may wish to tackle understanding understanding. That's a monumentally challenging thing. Oddly enough, those who ascribe to "know thyself," have a strange tendency of arguing that anything they want to do is achievable. Food for thought.
answered 7 hours ago
Cort AmmonCort Ammon
115k18 gold badges207 silver badges402 bronze badges
115k18 gold badges207 silver badges402 bronze badges
add a comment |
add a comment |
$begingroup$
First you need to verify the unaltered physics of your new home. Ideally, someone who does not have god-like powers should recreate Galileo's and Newton's experimental work (pendulums, centripetal force, etc.), while someone performs or researches the equivalent of Tycho Brahe's and Johannes Kepler's observational confirmation of orbital motion and a non-geocentric (or even non-heliocentric) universe.
While that work is going on, you could give someone a jump start on the knowledge to recreate Maxwell's electromagnetic equations, along with Franklin's, Faraday's, and eventually Stinmetz and Tesla's work with electricity and magnetism.
Starting from the knowledge base you describe, all of this should be accomplished (given a reasonable level of recruitment) in a matter of a few years.
The real trick will be biology -- unless you understand biology better than our society, you can't extend your own life to god-like immortality. Better get the smart folks on that one.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
First you need to verify the unaltered physics of your new home. Ideally, someone who does not have god-like powers should recreate Galileo's and Newton's experimental work (pendulums, centripetal force, etc.), while someone performs or researches the equivalent of Tycho Brahe's and Johannes Kepler's observational confirmation of orbital motion and a non-geocentric (or even non-heliocentric) universe.
While that work is going on, you could give someone a jump start on the knowledge to recreate Maxwell's electromagnetic equations, along with Franklin's, Faraday's, and eventually Stinmetz and Tesla's work with electricity and magnetism.
Starting from the knowledge base you describe, all of this should be accomplished (given a reasonable level of recruitment) in a matter of a few years.
The real trick will be biology -- unless you understand biology better than our society, you can't extend your own life to god-like immortality. Better get the smart folks on that one.
$endgroup$
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
First you need to verify the unaltered physics of your new home. Ideally, someone who does not have god-like powers should recreate Galileo's and Newton's experimental work (pendulums, centripetal force, etc.), while someone performs or researches the equivalent of Tycho Brahe's and Johannes Kepler's observational confirmation of orbital motion and a non-geocentric (or even non-heliocentric) universe.
While that work is going on, you could give someone a jump start on the knowledge to recreate Maxwell's electromagnetic equations, along with Franklin's, Faraday's, and eventually Stinmetz and Tesla's work with electricity and magnetism.
Starting from the knowledge base you describe, all of this should be accomplished (given a reasonable level of recruitment) in a matter of a few years.
The real trick will be biology -- unless you understand biology better than our society, you can't extend your own life to god-like immortality. Better get the smart folks on that one.
$endgroup$
First you need to verify the unaltered physics of your new home. Ideally, someone who does not have god-like powers should recreate Galileo's and Newton's experimental work (pendulums, centripetal force, etc.), while someone performs or researches the equivalent of Tycho Brahe's and Johannes Kepler's observational confirmation of orbital motion and a non-geocentric (or even non-heliocentric) universe.
While that work is going on, you could give someone a jump start on the knowledge to recreate Maxwell's electromagnetic equations, along with Franklin's, Faraday's, and eventually Stinmetz and Tesla's work with electricity and magnetism.
Starting from the knowledge base you describe, all of this should be accomplished (given a reasonable level of recruitment) in a matter of a few years.
The real trick will be biology -- unless you understand biology better than our society, you can't extend your own life to god-like immortality. Better get the smart folks on that one.
answered 9 hours ago
Zeiss IkonZeiss Ikon
8,65615 silver badges39 bronze badges
8,65615 silver badges39 bronze badges
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
However, would it be possible to reach the tech...I mean god singularity by trying to understand intelligence and how the mind works? Just get philosophers to try and really nail down how the brain works. Any time you understand something about it, you can influence it and improve it. So, you can improve your philosophers. Repeat. Eventually, with enough understanding of the brain, you should be able to create a mind that can understand more than you but then also be able to explain everything to you. So, it's a perpetual self-improvement feeding back all knowledge to you.
$endgroup$
– VLAZ
8 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
$begingroup$
@VLAZ Sounds to me like you're saying it's turtles all the way down...
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
7 hours ago
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is mostly about this. For example in chapter 28 Harry uses his scientific understanding for partial Transfiguration, deemed hitherto impossible:
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore. "It's exactly as he claimed. He simply
Transfigured a part of the subject without Transfiguring the whole.
You say it's really just a conceptual limitation, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, "but a deep one, just knowing it had to be a
conceptual limitation wasn't enough. I had to suppress the part of my
mind that was making the error and think instead about the underlying
reality that scientists figured out."
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is mostly about this. For example in chapter 28 Harry uses his scientific understanding for partial Transfiguration, deemed hitherto impossible:
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore. "It's exactly as he claimed. He simply
Transfigured a part of the subject without Transfiguring the whole.
You say it's really just a conceptual limitation, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, "but a deep one, just knowing it had to be a
conceptual limitation wasn't enough. I had to suppress the part of my
mind that was making the error and think instead about the underlying
reality that scientists figured out."
$endgroup$
add a comment |
$begingroup$
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is mostly about this. For example in chapter 28 Harry uses his scientific understanding for partial Transfiguration, deemed hitherto impossible:
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore. "It's exactly as he claimed. He simply
Transfigured a part of the subject without Transfiguring the whole.
You say it's really just a conceptual limitation, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, "but a deep one, just knowing it had to be a
conceptual limitation wasn't enough. I had to suppress the part of my
mind that was making the error and think instead about the underlying
reality that scientists figured out."
$endgroup$
Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is mostly about this. For example in chapter 28 Harry uses his scientific understanding for partial Transfiguration, deemed hitherto impossible:
"Fascinating," said Dumbledore. "It's exactly as he claimed. He simply
Transfigured a part of the subject without Transfiguring the whole.
You say it's really just a conceptual limitation, Harry?"
"Yes," Harry said, "but a deep one, just knowing it had to be a
conceptual limitation wasn't enough. I had to suppress the part of my
mind that was making the error and think instead about the underlying
reality that scientists figured out."
answered 7 hours ago
JurajJuraj
7472 silver badges6 bronze badges
7472 silver badges6 bronze badges
add a comment |
add a comment |
Tryer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Tryer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Tryer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Tryer is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to Worldbuilding Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fworldbuilding.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f153036%2fhow-do-figure-out-how-powerful-i-am-when-my-abilities-far-exceed-my-knowledge%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
2
$begingroup$
Yes, this seems to be a legitimate world-building question (at least to me). Should generate some interesting answers, too!
$endgroup$
– Zeiss Ikon
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
What does "understand" mean? Does observing that things fall down when you drop them allow you to fly? Or do you need to understand how gravity warps spacetime for that? If your powers allow you to defy known physics, then your model of physics is manifestly incorrect - your powers paradoxically preclude the understanding you require to use them!
$endgroup$
– Nuclear Wang
9 hours ago
$begingroup$
Thank you Zeiss, I'm happy to hear that! @NuclearWang, I think it would depend how I wanted to fly. If I used the aerospace knowledge that having more air pass under me than over me would create lift, I could fly. Seeing an apple fall may tell me that some force exists always pulling down, I don't think it'd let me control gravity because in newtonian physics gravity is just a force, I don't know what causes it, so I can't manipulate it. If I knew of spacetime warping, I then had the knowledge to affect gravity by affecting change in spacetime? Maybe? Either way I dig your paradox.
$endgroup$
– Tryer
7 hours ago