Consciousness is fundamental; only thereafter do time, space and matter arise. This is the starting point for a new theoretical model of the nature of reality, presented by Maria Strømme, Professor of Materials Science at Uppsala University, in AIP Advances. The article has been selected as the best paper of the issue and featured on the cover.
Strømme, who normally conducts research in nanotechnology, here takes a major leap from the smallest scales to the very largest—and proposes an entirely new theory of the origin of the universe. The article presents a framework in which consciousness is not viewed as a byproduct of brain activity, but as a fundamental field underlying everything we experience—matter, space, time, and life itself.
Stephen Wolfram is a physicist, mathematician, and programmer who believes he has discovered the computational rules that organize the universe at the finest grain. These rules are not physical rules like the equations of state or Maxwell’s equations. According to Wolfram, these are rules that govern how the universe evolves and operates at a level at least one step down below the reality that we inhabit. His computational principles are inspired by the results observed in cellular automata systems, which show that it’s possible to take a very simple system, with very simple rules, and end up at complex patterns that often look organic and always look far more intricate than the black and white squares that the game started with. He believes that the hyperspace relationships that emerge when he applies a computational rule over and over again represent the nature of the universe — and that the relationships that emerge contain everything from the seed of human experience to the equations for relativity, evolution, and black holes. We sit down with him for a conversation about the platonic endeavor that he has undertaken, where to draw the line between lived experience and the computational universe, the limits of physics, and the value of purpose and the source of consciousness.
Unlike most alien planetary invasion methods in the Dark Forest universe, Pluribus acts as a cosmic Trojan Horse, an interstellar gift engineered to disarm an entire civilization the moment it’s opened. Sent to Earth by an alien beacon from a relatively nearby star system, Pluribus hides behind the appearance of progress. Even if the extraterrestrial senders turn out to be benevolent, their initiative still aligns with the Dark Forest Hypothesis.
Chapters: 00:00 Pluribus Signal as a Weapon. 03:01 Galactic Disarmament. 04:10 Humanity’s Defense. 06:03 The Dark Forest Hypothesis.
Quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral proposes a radical vision of reality, one in which observers don’t exist, there are no particles and there is no space or time. Instead, for Vedral, quantum numbers, also known as Q numbers, are the true essence of reality, and it’s a much more beautiful and useful way to understand the world.
About New Scientist: New Scientist was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences”. Today our website, videos, newsletters, app, podcast and print magazine cover the world’s most important, exciting and entertaining science news as well as asking the big-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human.
Searching for life on other planets requires more than just measuring their distances from their stars. A future NASA telescope may help search for potentially habitable worlds.
“This raises a disturbing prospect—a Kardashev Type III metasociety may annihilate planetary systems as it expands to stabilize their megaswarms, leaving everything within its ‘bubble’ barren of planets. If those megaswarms then are destroyed anyway, no planets will remain on which to restart life,” the paper explains.
“Furthermore, in most early-type galaxies, there will be no star formation to ever replace them. Thus, the megaswarms portend doom, and leave behind a permanently sterilized galaxy in their wake.”
“The mass flow rates from Enceladus are between 20 to 40 percent lower than what you find in the scientific literature,” said Dr. Arnaud Mahieux.
How much ice is Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, losing to space when it discharges its interior ocean? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated whether Enceladus’ plume environments, including discharge rates, temperatures, and ice particle sizes could be determined strictly from observational data. This study has the potential to help scientists develop new methods for exploring icy bodies, especially those like Enceladus that could harbor life within its liquid water ocean.
For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to analyze data obtained from NASA’s now-retired Cassini spacecraft, which intentionally burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017 after running low on fuel. This was done to avoid potentially contaminating moons like Enceladus with microbes from Earth and interfere with potential life there. During its journey at Saturn and its many moons, Cassino both discovered and flew through the plumes of Enceladus, which are at the moon’s south pole and emit large quantities of water ice and other substances into space from its subsurface liquid water ocean. It’s the amount of water and ice these plumes discharge that have intrigued scientists, and the results were surprising.
Cloud cover is bad for picnics and for viewing stars through a telescope. But an exoplanet with dense or even total cloud cover could help astronomers search for signs of life beyond our planet.
Cornell researchers have created the first reflectance spectra—a color-coded key—of diverse, colorful microorganisms that live in the clouds floating above Earth’s surface. Astronomers don’t know if these bacteria exist elsewhere in the universe and in enough abundance to be detected by telescopes; on Earth they are not. But now, astronomers can use the color key in the search for life outside our world—making an exoplanet’s clouds, in addition to its surface and air, a promising realm for finding signs of life.
“There is a vibrant community of microorganisms in our atmosphere that produce colorful biopigments which have fascinated biologists for years,” said astrobiologist Ligia Coelho, 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellow in astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and fellow at the Carl Sagan Institute (CSI). “I thought astronomers should know about them.”
Science Fiction often shows us alien civilizations so advanced they are godlike, but how realistic are they, and what would such entities be like?
Visit https://brilliant.org/isaacarthur/ to get started learning STEM for free, and the first 200 people will get 20% off their annual premium subscription. Join this channel to get access to perks: / @isaacarthursfia. Visit our Website: http://www.isaacarthur.net. Join Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/isaacarthur. Support us on Patreon: / isaacarthur. Support us on Subscribestar: https://www.subscribestar.com/isaac-a… Group: / 1,583,992,725,237,264 Reddit: / isaacarthur Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord Credits: Alien Civilizations: Godlike Aliens Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur Episode 341, May 5, 2022 Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur Editors: Andrew Nelson Curt Hartung David McFarlane Cover Art: Jakub Grygier https://www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier Graphics: Ken York of YD Visual / ydvisual Music by: Martin Rezny, “Lifelight” Denny Schneidemesser, “Bridge Ambience” Stellardrone, “A Moment of Stillness”, “Cosmic Sunrise”, “Limbo” Aerium, “Fifth Star of Aldebaran” Miguel Johnson, “Strange New World“ Facebook Group: / 1583992725237264 Reddit: / isaacarthur. Twitter: / isaac_a_arthur on Twitter and RT our future content. SFIA Discord Server: / discord.
Credits: Alien Civilizations: Godlike Aliens. Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur. Episode 341, May 5, 2022 Written, Produced & Narrated by Isaac Arthur.
Editors: Andrew Nelson. Curt Hartung. David McFarlane.
Visions of humanity’s future in space — les johnson — infinite frontiers consulting, LLC.
Les Johnson is a physicist, author, and space technologist (https://www.lesjohnsonauthor.com/) who most recently served as the Chief Technologist at NASA’s George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.
Les is also the Founder of Infinite Frontiers Consulting (https://www.lesjohnsonauthor.com/infi… an aerospace consulting firm dedicated to helping turn innovative space ventures into reality. After decades leading of missions at NASA and collaborating across the industry, Les is excited to work with clients and partners who are pushing boundaries and advancing cutting-edge space technologies.
Over a distinguished career with NASA, Les played a central role in developing advanced space propulsion systems and pioneering technologies designed to expand humanity’s reach beyond Earth orbit. He has led and contributed to multiple interplanetary technology demonstration missions, including work on solar sails, in-space propulsion, and deep-space exploration architectures.
In addition to his NASA career, Les is an accomplished science fiction author and popular science writer, known for making complex space science accessible to broad audiences. His books—both fiction and nonfiction—explore the scientific and philosophical dimensions of humanity’s future in space (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Les-Joh?tag=lifeboatfound-20…).
