The Last Question

[Omkara]

Has anybody read this short story?

http://www.physics.princeton.edu/ph115/LQ.pdf

What do you think about it?

[JaiMaaDurga]

Namaste Omkara,

The Abrahamic reference in the end aside, it reminded me a bit of
the "Technological Singularity" idea made popular by Ray Kurzweil and
others, but also the "Conformal Cyclic Cosmology" theory of Roger Penrose;
if there is more interest in the details of that, one may watch Penrose
give a presentation on it here. I must note with some amusement-
a poster on a physics forum, after watching the video, asked "is Roger
Penrose a Hindu?"

JAI MATA DI

[Avyaydya]

Has anybody read this short story?

http://www.physics.princeton.edu/ph115/LQ.pdf

What do you think about it?

The story is in line with modern science that says that information can never be lost. One of the fundamental ideas of science is that every new situation contains all the information to theoretically rebuild the old situation. In this idea even the collapse of the universe would not destroy the information to rebuild the universe.

Whether this is true? Hawking suggested that in black holes information would be lost, it is called the "Hawking paradox". It was fiercely attacked by other scientists like Susskind, who created a theory that before something is lost in a black hole all information is spread out in the "event horizon". Later Hawkins admitted mistake and proposed a theory that information was lost in this universe but preserved in alternative universes. But as often lately, this seems very much like scientists creating new theories to save old theories, rather than basing them on facts of observations.

Every being in the Universe goes through cycles, and at the end of a cycle, we see a new cycle. This cycle is slightly different than the previous one, due to external influences. One would expect the Universe as a being to go through cycles as well. If the Universe is the biggest and only one of its kind, it may repeat the same cycle. If it is one of many universes it will go through a new changed cycle. Maybe all Universes form an entity as well and so on till infinity.

It does not really matter. On every level of complexity in reality we see the same principles at work. I think things are forever changing, because that is what we see around us, and that is what to be expected on every other level, the universe as well. A new universe may be built on slightly different laws of nature creating a very different environment.

But we Humans live in the perspective of this world, the world in us and around us. it is what defines us. To think: If we were a different, is of little use. We are what we are thanks to the Laws of Nature. What might be and will be are are questions that people give different answers to in different times.

Dharm creates the attention rather on who we are. The central question in Hinduism is not: "What will become of us", but "Who am I". This question is as puzzling and difficult as we exist on many levels. The path of Dharm is a challenge. Trying to figure out our place in existence and live according with it.