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[Neruz]

I love how you say "Just" as if it's no mean feat to simulate an entire universe.

[Ziusudra]

The inner angles of a triangle must always add up to 180 by definition, for example.

Assuming that the arbitrary number of degrees assigned to a circle is 360, yes.

[Neruz]

Anyway, the inner angles of a triangle do not always add up to 180 degrees. A spherical triangle has 3 90 degree corners for example; it 'breaks' the 'laws' of mathematics by virtue of cheating and going through the third dimension.

[Innominate]

-Snip-

This only works if the universe is unbounded. What if the universe is bounded. For example, what if spacetime is in the shape of a hypersphere (5+ dimensions at least) with our observation of it being the surface? If you travel far enough in one dimension you will end up where you started. What if it is more like a mobius strip, so that the entire universe would be traversed in a single straight line before returning to the start point? Pure speculation, but still fun.

[Craftling]

Imagine if Pi was exactly 3, or Sound travelled 12 miles faster?

Pi can't be three, as it is defined to be the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle in a Euclidean (flat) plane.

Thats what Pi wants you to think...

[kcwong]

there is a theory i find way more interesting than possible dwarf fortress instance-planets in an infinite universe.

namely: lets assume there is only one real universe. sooner or later intelligence comes around, and gets intelligent enough to create simulations. the chance of "our reality" being that one real universe is pretty slim. the probability of us being nothing but an instance of a DF-like game, played by some bored teenage alien, is infinitley higher.

therefore, DF is exaclty as real as our own reality. QED.

Reminds me of this:

I don't know, Timmy, being God is a big responsibility

I found it linked to on xkcd forum, in a discussion of what will you do if you have an infinitely fast computer.

It also reminds me of some episodes of Doraemon, an anime I grew up watching.

[Neruz]

Heh, cute.

[sir monko]

I love how you say "Just" as if it's no mean feat to simulate an entire universe.

depends. an universe can be small too. the df-world is an universe too, albeit a very restricted one.

[Neruz]

I love how you say "Just" as if it's no mean feat to simulate an entire universe.

depends. an universe can be small too. the df-world is an universe too, albeit a very restricted one.

So you're trying to tell me creating DF is no mean feat?

[sir monko]

So you're trying to tell me creating DF is no mean feat?

never said that. actually, i think DF is a gargantuan feat. i'm a programmer myself, but if i wanted to redo this game, i wouldn't even know where to start.
it's just a bit simpler than our reality -yet-, but i suppose sooner or later toady gets around to modify the world generator to simulate the big bang and several billion years down to the atomic level.

@kcwong: very nice story!

[Neruz]

My point is that simulating an entire universe (or even just what we can percieve of our universe) is no mean feat and certainly not deserving of being called 'just' a simulation.

Especially considering you could make a perfectly reasonable argument for reality being a 'simulation' so to speak, run on the 'computer' of physics.

[darkflagrance]

If someone finds out how to retain memories from all their past re-livings, they would be undisputed king of everything..

If they didn't go insane instead...

[Tofu]

If the universe is in fact infinite, then there must be infinite matter and space right ? since space is just the measure of the position of matter relative to eachother right? so if there is space there is matter, and if there's infinite matter there is an infinite number of you (as stated before).................this is mindbending shit : D

[Neruz]

If the universe is in fact infinite, then there must be infinite matter and space right ? since space is just the measure of the position of matter relative to eachother right? so if there is space there is matter, and if there's infinite matter there is an infinite number of you (as stated before).................this is mindbending shit : D

Maybe, depends on what kind of infinite it is. It may be infinitely nothing, with only a finite amount of stuff in it.

[atomfullerene]

Moose fisher, that story you found was pure genius.  Typically the protagonists find the ruins of an ancient civilization with only a few mysterious scraps of personal culture left.  But the idea of finding a whole civilization with lots of detailed information about it, yet still completely wiped out, is intriguing.  So yeah, epic rocketmurdered