Article View: sci.philosophy.tech
Article #1387Re: Ed Fredkin
From: Stacey Greenstein
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1988 09:18
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 1988 09:18
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2121 bytes
In article <3829@chinet.UUCP> rissa@chinet.UUCP (Patricia O Tuama) writes:
>From the April ATLANTIC MONTHLY:
>"Did the Universe Just Happen?" by Robert Wright
>Controversial scientist Edward Fredkin says no -- that the universe
>is a computer, and was built for a purpose. Fredkin believes that
>information is more fundamental than matter or energy, that all of
>reality is governed by a single programming rule, and that the uni-
>verse may have been created to get the answer to a question.
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
>The universe is a computer, designed to answer a question.
>Why does this sound so familiar?
> .
> t r i s h a o t u a m a
Well, let me think. If forty-two just happened to pop into my head, would you
say it were a coincidence, or that the programming has lead me to think of
the number forty-two? If the Universe is indeed a giagantic computer, Douglas
Adams would be an integral part of its programming, I would say! If Fredkin
is correct, then forty-two may only be just a step along the way towards the
final answer. Forty-two may just be the final answer hypercoded Recursively
so that the remaining program is just what is needed to decoded the number
forty-two. Or this could all be just the mindless babblings of a twenty year
old who has yet to go to bed and it is past four fifteen in the morning...
--
US Mail: Stacey Robert Greenstein BITNET: srg2@uordb1
P. O. Box 30202 ARPA: srg2@tut.cc.rochester.edu
Rochester, NY 14627 Phone: (716)244-9890
UUCP: {allegra, seismo, rutgers}!rochester!ur-tut!srg2
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!ur-tut!srg2 From: srg2@ur-tut (Stacey Greenstein) Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech,rec.arts.sf-lovers,rec.mag Subject: Re: Ed Fredkin Message-ID: <1441@ur-tut.UUCP> Date: 20 Mar 88 09:18:24 GMT References: <3829@chinet.UUCP> Reply-To: srg2@tut.cc.rochester.edu.UUCP (Stacey Greenstein) Organization: Univ. of Rochester Computing Center Lines: 30