Physicists Devise Way to Test Whether We’re Really Living in a Hologram
Interesting post from Sara Reardon in Symmetry (A joint Fermilab/SLAC publication):
In 2008, Fermilab particle astrophysicist Craig Hogan made waves with a mind-boggling proposition: The 3D universe in which we appear to live is no more than a hologram. Now he is building the most precise clock of all time to directly measure whether our reality is an illusion.
The idea that spacetime may not be entirely smooth — like a digital image that becomes increasingly pixelated as you zoom in – had been previously proposed by Stephen Hawking and others. Possible evidence for this model appeared last year in the unaccountable “noise” plaguing the GEO600 experiment in Germany, which searches for gravitational waves from black holes. To Hogan, the jitteriness suggested that the experiment had stumbled upon the lower limit of the spacetime pixels’ resolution.
Black hole physics, in which space and time become compressed, provides a basis for math showing that…
The Big Lebowski Matrix Mashup Video
Ever wonder what it would be like to explain The Matrix to The Dude? Morpheus gives it his best.
Philip K. Dick on “Consensus Reality” and the Multiverse
Another fascinating glimpse into the whirring gears that drove one of our most beloved literary figures.
Future Shock: Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers’ Heads by 2020
Jeremy Hsu writes on Popular Science:
If the idea of turning consumers into true cyborgs sounds creepy, don’t tell Intel researchers. Intel’s Pittsburgh lab aims to develop brain implants that can control all sorts of gadgets directly via brain waves by 2020.
The scientists anticipate that consumers will adapt quickly to the idea, and indeed crave the freedom of not requiring a keyboard, mouse, or remote control for surfing the Web or changing channels. They also predict that people will tire of multi-touch devices such as our precious iPhones, Android smart phones and even Microsoft’s wacky Surface Table.
Turning brain waves into real-world tech action still requires some heavy decoding of brain activity. The Intel team has already made use of fMRI brain scans to match brain patterns with similar thoughts across many test subjects.
Plenty of other researchers have also tinkered in this area. Toyota recently demoed a wheelchair controlled with brainwaves, and…
‘Matrix’ Bullet Time Scene Re-Created … in Legos
A great find from the Wrap:
From the famous green digital falling numbers to Keanu Reeves’ bending over backwards to dodge bullets, “Trinity Help” is a frame-accurate stop-frame animation of the famous bullet-dodge scene from 1999’s “The Matrix” — entirely in Lego.
If you’re wondering how they did it, check out the website. If you’re wondering WHY they did it, you’re on your own.
Also at the website, you can explore the behind-the-scenes machinations that went on during 440 hours of creating the Lego scene, and watch it side by side with the original scene from the movie.
Enjoy the video:
Why our brains will never live in the Matrix
In “Ghost in the Shell,” professor Athena Andreadis answers the question, “Why Our Brains Will Never Live in the Matrix,” contrasting “mind uploading” predictions with “the major stumbling block to personal immortality” — namely, that our biological software is inseparable from our hardware.
There’s practical problems. (”After electrochemical activity ceases in the brain, neuronal integrity deteriorates in a matter of seconds.”) But what we call “the mind” is also an artifact of a specific brain, and copying it “is an excellent way to leave a detailed memorial or a clone-like descendant, but not to become immortal.”
And besides, the professor argues, people visualizing an unending virtual life “invariably think of it in connection with themselves and those whom they like — choosing to ignore that others will also be around forever, from genocidal maniacs to cult followers, to say nothing of annoying in-laws or predatory bosses!”
