Have you went down any internet rabbit holes only to come out with a deep set existential crisis? If so, what are they?

  • stewie3128@lemmy.ml
    ·
    5 months ago

    In the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, there was mention of a Shawken Device which, if operable, could destroy the universe.

    This has led me to conclude that the universe probably isn't infinite.

    In an infinite universe, all possible things should be happening at the same time. This would necessarily mean that someone invented a device/mechanism/reaction that could destroy the universe, and successfully activated it, thus ending the universe.

    There are only two possible conclusions that I can draw from this thought experiment, which are not mutually exclusive:

    1. The universe is not infinite, and/or
    2. It is not possible to destroy the universe.
    • Colonel Panic@lemm.ee
      ·
      5 months ago

      Relativity proved that time isn't a constant thing where all things occur at "the present". You can have situations where person 1 sees an event happen as A B and person 2 sees that same event happen as B A.

      That means time isn't some absolute framework that reality exists in, but something more like a property of matter or space or something.

      Also the speed of light seems to be applicable here. Or more accurately, the speed at which events propagate through space. If you pushed a button to end the universe wouldn't that event only go at light speed out in all directions? So maybe the button has been pushed (maybe an infinite number of times too) and all the shockwaves just haven't gotten here yet.

    • BaumGeist@lemmy.ml
      ·
      5 months ago

      In an infinite universe, all possible things should be happening at the same time

      Misunderstanding of infinity.

      E.g.: 1.101100111000... is an infinitely long number, yet it will never be bigger than 1.2 nor smaller than 1.1, it does not contain all digits, nor does it contain all possible combinations of 0s and 1s.