this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2025
596 points (98.5% liked)
Science Memes
17360 readers
995 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.

Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The word "meaningful" does a lot of heavy lifting there. What does that mean? Do things which exceed the limit become meaningless? Because I was thinking, since we cannot know the future, as best as we could ever do is to approach infinitely close to the future, but never actually pass it*, because it hasn't happened yet, and thus is unknowable. Like an event horizon. Not only on the macroscopic, but also microscopic scale there seems to be a limit beyond which all inquiry, or escape as it were, becomes possible as a matter of some sort of gravitational geometry.
Again, I want to stress I have no idea, I'm just an enthusiast so sorry if my musings make no sense, I appreciate a lot you taking your time with me and all of us to talk about this, so I'm just happy to be here.
Thanks for the cool graphics, they make sense!
*Just like you can't escape the singularity once you're bound. Same same but different! A transistor flipping a bit is a calculation.
It is an "action", a passage of time, an action in time, quantified somehow, a single unit of the passage of time? Like a photon is both a wave and a particle but neither and both at the same time? So how does one measure that, and more importantly, what goes on in the immeasurable space meanwhile? Particles jumping in between space and time and shit, everywhere, nowhere. The Universe is a very naughty place and has a gambling problem.
The word "is", is a problematic word. Are things only calculations? Who is doing the calculating? What is calculating what? Calculation implies intention, as far as I am concerned. Or inevitability! Some form of mechanical causal chain that just plays out the movements it is predestined to play out and free will is an illusion which it very well might be, I don't know where I was quite going with this, we should start a podcast I'm sure we'd be great.
I hear ya!
I see!
The future can be predicted? To what degree of certainty? Can it be fully predicted?
Fair enuf.
Sounds kind of like an event horizon. Like. You know, if you want to travel faster than light, you need infinite energy to get there. Or something like that. I get the feeling that the Universe is simultaneously the largest and the smallest thing that exists. Kind of a weird position to be in when you think about it, because the Universe is infinitely vast, but it is also infinitely small, down to quarks, bosons, or strings, or whatever. Like it's, well, expanding, elastically, in both directions at once. Would you agree?
Mhm. Mmyes. Quite so, quite so.
Cool.
Is it enough to express it all? What would that mean? If we knew all the laws, would we be able to perfectly predict the future?