Picture a tree in your mind, and then zoom in on one of its branches. The branch is essentially the same structure as the whole tree. Now zoom in further, all the smaller branches have the same characteristics, even further down to the pattern of the veins in every leaf.
In words, the information governing the system is essentially the same at every level of formation. And it’s the most efficient way nature has found for creation. Instead of somehow storing massive amounts of information needed to blueprint an entire organism, the organism just copies itself over and over at every level of production. It always knows what to do next because it’s the same thing it has been doing all along, guided by the same few instructions.
http://mandelbrot.collettivamente.com/
The human body itself is fractal in essence. The pattern of our veins and blood vessels branching throughout our bodies exhibits fractal behavior. Even our cells are composed of “organs” that are directly analogous to the organs in our bodies!
And you can take it as big as you want! From stars swirling around galaxies, to electron clouds orbiting atomic nuclei. They all behave under the same essential rules, with small variations in the different outcomes.
http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/Pickover/pc/brain-universe.html
Let’s shift gears now, and talk about the exciting time that we are graced to be alive in right now! We are entering into a new era, exceeding the information age, exceeding the technology age, far surpassing the industrial revolution. Among other feats of greatness we are sure to accomplish, we are about to birth artificial intelligence (A.I.) for the first time. And it won’t necessarily be robots running around shooting lasers from their eyes. It will start much simpler and safer.
The way I like to imagine it is being just like World of Warcraft (WOW). A completely artificial virtual-reality simulation executed by an extremely advanced computer. And inside there will be some little character(s) that suddenly wakes up, for the first time ever, in some exotic forest or what have you. And that character will wander around thinking, “Wow, look at all this stuff. It looks so real.” And it will be real to them because the simulation tells them that it’s real.
Now some of you already know where I’m going with this, but I’m going to go there anyway because this is my favorite part.
Basically, the difference between us and our little WOW character friend is just one “degree” of fractal (or dimension). So looking back in the other direction… we are essentially characters in some crazy giant fucking computer that we have no way of fathoming! And it feels real, because it is, to us. But it’s just the Matrix telling us that it’s real.
And the fractal keeps going, bigger and bigger, virtual realities computing virtual realities inside virtual realities, iteration after iteration. And smaller too, for once our little WOW character discovers how to create A.I. himself, the process will continue in more unfathomable directions.
But none of these are separate from each other, for they are all integral parts of the whole, just as the our cells make up our bodies, and our people make up our communities, etc. All necessary parts to form the whole, all intimately interconnected. Independence is merely a localized point of view.
This same basic idea is present in religions and cultural beliefs all across the world. This specific approach was adopted thanks to Thomas Campbell and his book My Big TOE. I encourage you to read it, but if not, at least think often on yourself as a unique contribution to the whole, but also, the same as the whole. Think expansively of yourself, see yourself in others and in the Universe. You may find that everything is a really a reflection of yourself.
In closing, consider how similarly the human brain and a computer processor function. If God created man in his own image, then A.I. will certainly be created in ours.
There is a rumor circulating throughout the internet claiming thatB> “Mars will appear as big as the full Moon on August 27th!” more...
French astronomer Charles Messier was searching for comets. In his search, he catalogued objects that were not comets so other astronomers wouldn’t waste time on them either. This list turned out to be a list of the most interesting objects to look at in the night sky. The Messier Catalogue is a list of nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies many of which can be seen with a good pair of binoculars, if you know where to look.
The catalogue includes such as The Great Hercules cluster or M31 an ancient globular cluster of a half a billion stars. Also the Whirlpool Galaxy, the picturesque example of interacting galaxies with spiral arms that can be seen with a modestly powered telescope. Also, the Ring Nebula or M51, a remnant of a star with similar mass to the Sun. The “M” of course standing for Messier. Charles catalogued 45 objects initially but the list has since grown to 103 from finding more documentation of other objects from Charles’ assistants.
