About what will happen in the future

[aciddose]

In fact, a stronger argument might be that only one thing is certain in the Universe, and that is change.

This is called evolution.



Also, f**k bon jovi.

[Doug1978]

Actually, everything IS happening in the future, just not the past - Albert Einstein

But do the past and future ever exist if matters are only considered in the present?

And if the future exists, then there's a chance at some point that 'nothing' will happen (again).

Yes, since there is no "future" or "present" in cosmological terms. In other words, your notion that we only consider matters in the present is likely an illusion, and the discussion is largely an argument of semantics (what is "the present?"). According to Einstein, time is another dimension that changes when you change your frame of reference. So the future is happening now. We have tested this hypothesis, and like all Einstein's tested hypotheses, it is supported by all available evidence (we have travelled into the "future" slightly).

Your point that there's a chance that nothing will happen may or may not be true, but there is no evidence that there was ever "nothing happening" in the past. The idea appears to violate every observation ever made. In fact, a stronger argument might be that only one thing is certain in the Universe, and that is change. Your idea is extraordinary, and therefore requires extraordinary evidence to ever be accepted as a scientific conclusion.

TBH, my viewpoint is hardly extraordinary. If anything, it's fairly cliched:

What happened before the Big Bang? Was it nothing?
(And was there a Big Bang?)

Hawking gives this interesting idea:
http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-beginning-of-time.html

Einstein certainly makes some well respected points about the past, present and future.
And these are very acceptable to the Western mindset of many a scientist (like yourself ?).


But the idea of 'future', 'past' and 'present' becomes much harder to define over here (in Asia): not only with so-called ''Eastern'' philosophical mindset(s) but also, more practically, with teaching English grammar patterns to Japanese students!

Ultimately, everything in these arguments is semantics and framing by humans to make sense of their own limited world views.



Anyway, that's probably enough jousting and jesting by us; not least because this 'future' thread is now 'so yesterday' :p

[vurt]

about 20 mins in the future i will turn the lp over.

[Gonga]

Actually, everything IS happening in the future, just not the past - Albert Einstein

But do the past and future ever exist if matters are only considered in the present?

And if the future exists, then there's a chance at some point that 'nothing' will happen (again).

Yes, since there is no "future" or "present" in cosmological terms. In other words, your notion that we only consider matters in the present is likely an illusion, and the discussion is largely an argument of semantics (what is "the present?"). According to Einstein, time is another dimension that changes when you change your frame of reference. So the future is happening now. We have tested this hypothesis, and like all Einstein's tested hypotheses, it is supported by all available evidence (we have travelled into the "future" slightly).

Your point that there's a chance that nothing will happen may or may not be true, but there is no evidence that there was ever "nothing happening" in the past. The idea appears to violate every observation ever made. In fact, a stronger argument might be that only one thing is certain in the Universe, and that is change. Your idea is extraordinary, and therefore requires extraordinary evidence to ever be accepted as a scientific conclusion.

TBH, my viewpoint is hardly extraordinary. If anything, it's fairly cliched:

What happened before the Big Bang? Was it nothing?
(And was there a Big Bang?)

Hawking gives this interesting idea:
http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-beginning-of-time.html

Einstein certainly makes some well respected points about the past, present and future.
And these are very acceptable to the Western mindset of many a scientist (like yourself ?).


But the idea of 'future', 'past' and 'present' becomes much harder to define over here (in Asia): not only with so-called ''Eastern'' philosophical mindset(s) but also, more practically, with teaching English grammar patterns to Japanese students!

Ultimately, everything in these arguments is semantics and framing by humans to make sense of their own limited world views.



Anyway, that's probably enough jousting and jesting by us; not least because this 'future' thread is now 'so yesterday' :p

What I meant by extraordinary is the scientist's view of your statement that perhaps "nothing will happen." There's no evidence for it, and it appears to contradict all evidence, and thus is not ordinary (extraordinary). You might try to give me an example - anything - that doesn't change (not including abstract human ideas such as the "laws" of science, the atom, etc.).

I like your philosophy - the present is all we puny humans really have. Science can't answer philosophical or religious questions, at least not yet. It has a different basis, different methods, and different goals, as do philosophy and religion. It's just that science seems to lead in a different direction. The Universe is certainly loaded with constant, violent, wrenching change. Our primitive minds can't really get around it, so we fool ourselves (not you...all of us) to think things are stable and work diligently to create the illusion of stability in our insular little bubbles constructed around us. It's much more comfortable and frees our minds to focus on stuff that's important to us...like...TV, etc.

[vurt]

entropy.

[xoxos]

entering a pee is what got this whole mess in the first place.

[Sendy]

I don't want a VST that plugs into your brain and records awesome music, or just uses the right mapping such that whatever random stuff it detects is filtered through amazing AI that turns it into awesome music. That's like teleporting to the top of the mountain without having to climb it.

I'll take all the years of writer's block and struggling to understand and learn and master concepts just because that instance when you discover a special place in the musicscape and feel like you're one of the first people there is f**king amazing, a natural high and borderline transcendental.

[cytospur]

entropy.

Prey not.

[aciddose]

This whole topic is just brain-dead.

If such a tool were possible, why would we need to attach a stupid monkey to it? That's all you'd be.

[aciddose]

I'll actually add this post as well to point out some things I consider obvious and that don't really scare me all that much, they're inevitable really. They may scare you if you don't expect them.

The real use of such a neural interface is not to take orders from the executive (the "conscious") but rather to control the body and interface with the brain without the need for the executive, "allowing" the executive to "busy" itself with "other" tasks.

For example imagine a system which replaces your vision and tactile senses and routes control signals for your musculature to interface with the network. People like devices like tablet computers (the ipad, for example) because they are far more simplified interfaces to "the internet" (facebook, whatever) than what they had been forced to use. They do not realize that the interface we use (keyboard, mouse) is in fact optimized for different tasks and for such tasks a tablet computer is useless and of course they do not care.

So imagine if you will an interface which replaces your "reality" with any of your choosing. I'm not talking "virtual reality" or "the matrix", I'm just talking movies, video games, facebook and so on. This is really not all that far off as you might think.

Meanwhile you might have your body doing a full body workout and shower. By the end of your movie you are in exactly the same place you started out without ever having invested the effort toward that workout and heaven forbid toward personal hygiene.

Now think about that and try to use your imagination.

PS: my above post applies here also.

[xoxos]

what's your problem with brain-dead? debilitating the unsuspecting is such stupendous fun for the unsuspected. you drive on roads, don't you!

intresting thought. makes you think about cars and television all different like.

hehe, if such a tool were possible.. "that's what a hamburger's all about" the best of all possible tools?! et c.

[aciddose]

Consider what I may have meant by "brain-dead", actually. If you think about it and use your imagination as I suggest you may come up with some applications for this technology.

[xoxos]

that's what i'm worried about mate.

[Jace-BeOS]

about 20 mins in the future i will turn the lp over.

20 minutes into the future...



(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Hea ... the_Future)

[Aloysius]

The future will become the present and the present will become the past.