Is The Universe One Big Interconnected Neural Network?
Is the universe an interconnected neural network? A new way of thinking is emerging about how different areas of physics and the universe could be connected to create a model that ties together traditional scientific thought with new ideas in quantum physics.
For years physicists have tried to unify classical and quantum physics. Classical physics goes back to the time of Sir Isaac Newton and is based on mechanical, physical equations; that everything operates like clockwork, predictably and knowably.
Quantum physics, on the other hand, looks at microscopic, subatomic scales and how they interact at the levels of particles, waves, and forcefields. But the fundamental laws of physics at this quantum level are the antithesis of their behavior at the classical level. Instead of certainty, you have uncertainty. So how do we connect these different views with a so-called “Theory of Everything”?
A recent paper by University of Minnesota Duluth Physics Professor Vitaly Vanchurin, argues that this seeming paradox can exist if the universe is connected in a neural network.
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Forget the Flu; Mark Gasson Fights Infection From Computer Virus
As the age of technology wears on, more and more people have been considering implanting themselves and their pets with chips that store information and communicate various details to other receptive technology. But skeptics wonder if it’s naive of people to consider such trends as simple and safe. What happens, for instance, when your information is hacked, when there’s a glitch in the technology, or when there chip catches a computer virus?
In 2009, Dr. Mark Gasson tested these reservations were tested at the University of Reading, by having an RFID chip implanted into his hand. Then, quite intentionally, he infected himself with a computer virus.
RFID Insertion
RFID stands for radio frequency identification and work like barcodes within a type of tracking system, transmitting information to a reader through radio waves. Although their original use was for merchandise, people have begun inserting them into their pets and even themselves.
If this sounds a little like the premise of a dystopian sci-fi where the protagonist is running from an authoritarian force that can track him anywhere, you’re not far off. The chips have already been used to locate missing people — for better or worse. On the plus side, Alzheimer’s patients who’ve wandered far from home can be found and returned, and victims of kidnapping incidents are more likely to be rescued.
However, the problem with this marriage between living forms and technology —Â what one might refer to as transhumanism — surfaces when, say, stalkers or criminals have the technology to find you, wherever you are. Their victims become easy to locate and target.
