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The meaning of life?

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Adam Munich

Tue Nov 09 2010, 10:35PM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

While asking google what the meaning of life is, it turned out to in fact be 42. I then pondered what 42 could be...

(((3 * 5) + 7) * 2) + (4 - 6 + (8 - 9)) + 1 = 42

1 = Biological immortality. This is one of the goals of humanity, and it is something we are less than 500 years away from.
2 = Intergalactic travel. With immortality comes overpopulation, and the way to solve that would be to travel to other stars and even galaxies.
3 = Terraforming, or creating earth-like planets through the process of geological, biological, and atmospheric manipulation.
4 = Violation of c. In a universe our size the cosmological constant is extremely slow. We need to find a way to violate it and allow objects and information to travel faster than c. Otherwise intergalactic travel is impossible, as well as communication between solar systems.
5 = Improving our senses. Things like increasing dynamic range of the eyes, and ears.
6 = Improving ourselves, in strength, stamina, survival ability, and in ways we cannot possibly imagine.
7 = Halting the impending death of our universe, by;
8 = Creating matter from nothing. By creating matter from nothing we have unlimited hydrogen to feed to our stars, and we also have;
9 = Peaceful anarchy. With unlimited resources, there is no need for fighting.

So, why do you think we're here?

Steve Conner

Wed Nov 10 2010, 09:48AM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

Meaning is for the weak.

Nicko

Wed Nov 10 2010, 11:33AM

Registered Member #1334 Joined: Tue Feb 19 2008, 04:37PM
Location: Nr. London, UK
Posts: 615

Steve McConner wrote ...

Meaning is for the weak.

meanings are fun.

I've just learnt that "vegetarian" is an Inuit word meaning "useless hunter".

Cheers!

Steve Conner

Wed Nov 10 2010, 12:07PM

Registered Member #30 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 10:52AM
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 6706

You can always spot a vegetarian Inuit, he's dead.

Unless blubber doesn't count as meat.

Thomas W

Wed Nov 10 2010, 07:14PM

Registered Member #3324 Joined: Sun Oct 17 2010, 06:57PM
Location:
Posts: 1276

if we found out the meaning of life there wouldnt be one :P

Arcstarter

Wed Nov 10 2010, 10:43PM

Registered Member #1225 Joined: Sat Jan 12 2008, 01:24AM
Location: Beaumont, Texas, USA
Posts: 2253

The meaning of life could be explained through religion, math, history, or whatever, but that does not mean that any of it is right. The number 42 and how it is explained sounds intelligent, but who's to say any of it has any meaning?

What Tom Williamson said is what i would have said if i remembered quotes like that

.

Oh, and apparently our galaxy weighs 3x10^42, which i find that as insignificant as the above equation.

Coronafix

Thu Nov 11 2010, 01:21AM

Registered Member #160 Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 02:07AM
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 938

I think it is whatever you want it to be.
For some it is a scientific discovery, for others it is children or writing a book, or community.
I think what is important is to find that meaning, which is not always a simple thing, and live your life to the fullest.

Bjørn

Thu Nov 11 2010, 03:17AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

I put forward this hypothesis...

We are the ultimate Shakespearian apes that by pure chance are able to ask questions and ponder on their answers, at all other places in time and space there are no one to ask that question. That we can ask the question does not mean it is a valid question to ask. In this case the anthropic principle creates the illusion that it is a valid question.

Imagine a water molecule that falls as rain on a mountain and works its way to the ocean over thousands of years and finally arrives on a beach, on a stone, in a small drop, just at the jaws of a thirsty spider. The chance of that happening is so small that it is not possible to imagine. If the water molecule could think it would be amazed that the universe seems to be perfectly constructed to create exactly that unlikely journey. The spider would know differently...

Adam Munich

Thu Nov 11 2010, 04:35AM

Registered Member #2893 Joined: Tue Jun 01 2010, 09:25PM
Location: Cali-forn. i. a.
Posts: 2242

Well imagine that a incomprehensable series of events, starting with amino acids reacting 4 billion years ago led to me typing this sentence here right now. The chances of that happening are so rediculously tiny that the only way something like that could happen IMO is in either a perfect universe, or an infinite universe. In an infinite universe then anything can and will happen. If our universe is truley infinite then numbers 7,8,and 9 in my list are meaningless. An infinte universe has infinite matter and thus would last infinitely long.

Nothing like a little philosophy to break the scientific routine.
(sorry if I misspelled things, my laptop's SMPS melted [yes melted!] and I'm using my father's laptop. IE has no spellcheck)

Bjørn

Thu Nov 11 2010, 05:15AM

Registered Member #27 Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058

There are many different "infinite" solutions:
An infinite number of finite universes at the same time.
An infinite number of cycles of finite universes.
Each singularity in each universe is the starting point of another universe.
Each collapse of a quantum entanglement spawns off one or an infinite number of new universes.
(insert long list of other possibilities)

Using simple logic on something that is probably quantum mechanical or even more interesting in nature and then base the answer on personal incredulism is probably a very bad method at arriving at a reliable answer.

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