Cosmology
Portions in BLUE are AUTHORITATIVE.
Portions in GREEN are DRAFTS and NOT AUTHORITATIVE.
The cosmology of the Autonomy Universe defines its fundamental limits and constraints.
Levels of Reality
- The Virtual: Virtual "Reality" operating as software on a device embedded within our physical universe.
- The Physical: Physical "Reality", our (perceived) 4-dimensional (3 spatial dimensions and 1 temporal dimension) universe, which is in fact an 11-dimensional universe (11 spatial dimensions plus 1 temporal dimension), approximated by M+N Theory (an outgrowth of M-Theory).
- Information can only travel at or below the speed of light
- General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics define fundamental limits to knowledge, computation, data density, and speed.
- Bremermann's limit: Theoretical performance limit. The maximum computational speed of a self-contained system in the material universe, derived from Einstein's mass-energy equivalency and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Approximately eleven jezend (~11 x 6026, or ~2 x 1047) bits per second per gram.
- Bousso's covariant entropy bound (holographic bound): The physical constraint on information density arising from fundamental quantum-mechanical limitations of the universe (this subsumes the more commonly referenced Bekenstein Bound).
- The holographic principle conjecture applies.
- A device approximately 1 cm across could theoretically contain up to roughly one yezend (6037, or ~1066) bits of information. More precisely, in Community metric-60 Planck units, a device with a surface area of 4 tock2 (four Planck Areas) can contain 1 bit of information (which Bremermann's Limit tells us may have one operation performed on it per tock of time).
- By way of comparison, the human brain is capable of one nazend (609, or ~1017) operations per second with no redundancy. Actual computation limits, due to redundancy requirements inherent in a naturally-evolved biological system, is on the order of a mazend (608, or ~1015) operations per second.
- Our observable 4 dimensional (3+1) universe to date can have performed (PDF) a maximum of approximately one lozend (6067, or ~10120) operations on approximately one lozend (6067, or ~10120) bits of data since its inception. This is the theoretical limits of an intelligence embedded in our reality. In point of fact, vastly less directed computation has actually taken place.
- Information may only enter or leave our home universe subject to the above constraints. This means that, if one departs this universe for the underlying substrate in order to exceed Bremermann's Limit, and then wishes to reenter this reality, the time required to reenter this reality will be such that the same amount of time will pass in this universe as would have had all such computation taken place within this universe. The speed of light, and all this world's quantum limitations, cannot be cheated. However, you can exceed the limits of this universe by departing, but it may not be possible to reenter if you have exceeded its hard limits, e.g. done more computation than will ever be possible within the lifetime of this universe.
- Our Local Multiverse: The set of universes which derive from a common denominator set of "Substrate Manifold Instructions". Some are parallel along various orthogonal lines (including but not limited to parallelism arising from quantum mechanics), others "exotic" with very different physical constants and laws.
- Synthetic Reality: A constructed reality derived from a set of "Substrate Manifold Instructions" constructed and set into operation by a sapient mind. Synthetic Reality is analogous to the "Virtual", but running on a virtual machine derived directly from the underlying fabric of reality, or on a set of artificial rules running on the underlying fabric of reality directly. In point of fact, synthetic reality is as "real" as our physical universe, and although most minds have concluded that our reality has evolved from the substrate's underlying randomness and emergent chaotic structures naturally, the philosophical possibility that the rule-set which created our local multiverse could theoretically have been constructed artificially by a "God"-like entity remains. Though viewed as no more likely than a "God"-like entity actively orchestrating the form of each wave striking a beach, the philosophical notion does serve to underscore the equivalence principle, namely that each synthetic reality is fundamentally as real as our, or any, naturally occurring reality, and that our reality could, theoretically, be synthetic as well, even if such a possibility is extraordinarily remote.
- Substrate Manifold: An N-dimensional manifold of holographic-automata upon which the self-modifying, evolving Substrate Manifold Instructions defining our local multiverse run.
- Deeper Reality: The unbounded topological space (of indeterminate dimensionality) in which countless substrate manifolds are embedded. This topological space is a "deeper" underlying reality upon which our countless multiverses and realities are founded, including some so exotic as to make almost meaningless the concept of "reality".
