Oct 29, 2026, 6:12 AM@bob_zim @rythur @sophieschmieg @demofox in case you’re interested, it’s believed that we can continue to produce entropy (do stuff) for another 10^100 years. So I guess we’d need 501 bits to count stuff sequentially (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_death_of_the_universe#Time_frame_for_heat_death ). Although there’s only 3.28x10^80 particles in the currently observable universe, so who knows what we’re counting.
@bnut @bob_zim @sophieschmieg @demofox
Now you have me picturing a film in which the world/universe is saved against entropy, like Interstellar did with time. In general then, and in the absence of being saved in this way, we can only count so high, which of course goes back to the beauty of finitism.
So, our path to living forever has to be Climate > Time > Entropy.
I bet there's still much we don't understand at all about the exhaustive counts of things, like particles. Ugh!
Oct 29, 2026, 6:41 AM@rythur if you like this sort of thing you may like to read “the 3 body problem”
I've definitely read about the three-body, was working on coming up with a more complicated variant, involving negative energy balances, when I started noticing my house being broken into. Now, I'm targeted and homeless. Lol. Maybe someone didn't like the diagrams???
Either way, thanks!
The N-Body is just plain super-monkey stuff BTW.
Cheers!
Oct 29, 2026, 7:04 AM@rythur I’m sorry that happened. Just to clarify though, the three body problem I’m referring to is a fictional book that heavily features the math problem
Ohhhhh. Didn't know there was a book. I'll scope it out. But, yeah, coordinated harassment is terrible, those doing it have no soul. One will take pics of the car, the next will get in, and then Stasi damages. Real unfortunate times. But I'll scope the book!
Thanks :-)
@bnut With a count that large, obviously you have to recount all the particles a few times to be sure!