The main problem I see in such concepts is how are they supposed to evolve to such a high complexity state? Human civilization works like a competition. Every cooperation is emergent and not a "built-in synergy". So these aliens must work like separate enormous hives each with common center, not a group of individuals. (Which doesn't disprove anything, it just means that a single "one" of this organisms must be incredibly complex to encapsulate a space civilization worth of knowledge.)
@@AbsoluteHuman That would or could essentially function like the internet in a way. Think about it, we already have animals on Earth that display hive behavior like bees and ants and we still aren't sure exactly how it works fully. If an organism managed to evolve a more advanced form of hive intelligence, it could function like the internet essentially where there is a center for information that can be accessed by any individual at any time for reasons such as obtaining their orders or sharing or absorbing information. It is fun to think about really. We have no idea how far evolution can go and there is always the prospect that organisms can manipulate their own evolution with technology like we are beginning to do. They could build themselves an internet like hub that anyone can access telepathically at any instance to the point you don't even need to construct a thought because something else can construct it for you. THAT would be truly scary.
The concept of "The universe isn't working as intended and that's actually good for us, because we are anomalous" is a fun one to explore. If I remember correctly, more than one articles on the SCP wiki play with something like this.
@@Kick0a0cat One of the SCP 001 proposals do this I think. Its the one where Human conscience is unique in the universe, and all other life is vastly different. I think the proposal is called "Humanity at Large," or something like that.
Technically the very first SCP (if i remember correctly, one of them, not the factory) says that humanity itself is an SCP, i may be wrong and it may from some video i've seen XD
I mean I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're living in that universe. There was supposed to be an equal amount of matter and antimatter at the beginning of the universe and theyd annihilate eachother, leaving the universe empty. But something evidently went wrong, and now theres a lot of matter, and no visible antimatter.
Nice to see somebody acknowledge that "universe as computation" has deeper implications than most of the simulation talk I encounter being as if we live in a video game or such.
@@kamikeserpentail3778 : weather in a game or just the few neurons firing as some entity dream us up, it requires something that exists by extension we exist.
That digital physics concept is wild. While I was in physics in highschool, I had a similar thought completely on my own. But my idea was that we are 'compilers' or 'interpreters' of the universe, like in a programming language, converting the matter we interact with into abstract concepts with meanings attached to them, like code is compiled into interactive programs
Before life was here to perceive and quantify time, everything before life mine as well had happened instantly or for an eternity. Those massive time scales truelly have no meaning
The scary thing about Science Fiction isn't that these ideas necessarily exist in our universe, but that these ideas could exist in SOME universe out there. That the possibility exists. it's terrifying and exciting at the same time.
@@notoriousbig3k the universe might be so vast that there could be millions of planets which look exactly the same as earth with multiple versions of you on them. The theory of multiverse doesn't necessarily mean multiple universes as we know them, but it could also mean one giant universe that encompasses every possible thing that could happen/exist. Obviously it would be bound by the same law's of physics, but it's something to think about.
@@SamogitianJesus throw in different dimensional states of a universe. Could be one as well as several universes with completely different natural laws. One does not negate the other. But the one universe is most likely true in any case. The other one would be impossible to prove
I have been turned on to a bunch of new sci-fi books thanks to your videos. Your have never steered me wrong and I thank you so much for your insights.
I'm reading "Echopraxia" right now, having finished "Blindsight" a couple days ago. Don't know quite what to think about either, at this point, as I am still digesting, though I am enjoying the story. Peter Watts has great footnotes at the end of Blindsight that point to some really interesting books about consciousness that I'm going to have to read as soon as I'm done with "Echopraxia". Among them "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self," by Thomas Metzinger. Thanks for an excellent review.
Blindsight has sent me down so many rabbit holes, including Thomas Metzinger and Susan Blackmore on consciousness, Hartman and Fisher and Thacker and others on concepts related to speculative realism, on and on. I’ve got Echopraxia here for later this year, and if it has even a tenth as much impact on me, it’ll be time well spent.
I thought this was going to be about Snow Crash, wherein viruses, language, and religion are theorized to be a sort of trinity that modern humanity sprang from. It's worth a read, pretty mind blowing.
I remember reading some weird theory on a fringe internet page a decade ago that was kind of like that - that people in the far past didn't have thoughts or an internal monologue, that the first "gods" or "spirits" were actually an expression of that "voice in your head" phenomenon as it developed.
@@mess5142 Bro I'm sorry to say I have no idea what the website was or if it even exists anymore. Not even Google works the same as it used to, so good luck finding if it still exists.
I'm glad you covered the Firefall duology. Brilliant world building and terrifying themes, the only issue I feel is that echopraxia is a lot more jumbled and unfocused. Blindsight felt more coherent and is my favourite of the two because of that. I'd still recommend both if you want some challenging hard sci Fi that's written with exceptional prose.
I love Echopraxia but maaan, writing a book from the perspective of a dog trying to understand human quantum physics, while an admirable attempt, was maybe Watts biting off more than he can chew. The entire book is Bruks basically saying “this is maybe my best guess as to what the hell is going on around me, but I’m not even capable of knowing for sure.”
I love Peter Watts' Starfish/Rifters trilogy so much... I read it usually once every few months, Blindsight maybe twice, but both books are a major bullet point emotionally for points of time in my life. Thanks for doing a video on ONE of his works!
Blindsight and Echopraxia are both brilliant. "Space Vampires" really didn't seem to hold much promise, but I was left thinking and asking myself questions. That is what I really want from my science fiction.
Yeah I was put off by that when I first started Blindsight. "Vampires? In my hard sci-fi? Really?" But Valerie ended up being my favorite character in Echopraxia.
It hurts me that you encountered someone who summarised Blindsight as ‘vampires in space’. You got me trying to come up with equally misleading and terrible summaries of other classic novels: Slaughterhouse-Five; ‘aliens that look like toilet plungers’ 1984; ‘people *think* it is the 1980s but it is really the future’ Lord of the Rings; ‘what if people, but smaller?!’ Dune; ‘people who really love eating worm poop’ Roadside Picnic; ‘what if aliens turned your daughter into a monkey?!’
Carl Sagan mentioned something like this in 'Broca's Brain'. The idea that if god existed as some kind universal intelligence that we would be able to find evidence for it in the mathematics of the universe, we'd find certain number systems that could point to some kind of intelligence that couldn't be explained by physics. It was the closest he ever came to entertaining some concept of a 'god'. Now I'm going to have to add those two books to my ever growing pile.. thank you.
“Scientists are slowly waking up to an inconvenient truth - the universe looks suspiciously like a fix. The issue concerns the very laws of nature themselves. For 40 years, physicists and cosmologists have been quietly collecting examples of all too convenient "coincidences" and special features in the underlying laws of the universe that seem to be necessary in order for life, and hence conscious beings, to exist. Change any one of them and the consequences would be lethal. Fred Hoyle, the distinguished cosmologist, once said it was as if "a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics". To see the problem, imagine playing God with the cosmos. Before you is a designer machine that lets you tinker with the basics of physics. Twiddle this knob and you make all electrons a bit lighter, twiddle that one and you make gravity a bit stronger, and so on. It happens that you need to set thirtysomething knobs to fully describe the world about us. The crucial point is that some of those metaphorical knobs must be tuned very precisely, or the universe would be sterile. Example: neutrons are just a tad heavier than protons. If it were the other way around, atoms couldn't exist, because all the protons in the universe would have decayed into neutrons shortly after the big bang. No protons, then no atomic nucleuses and no atoms. No atoms, no chemistry, no life. Like Baby Bear's porridge in the story of Goldilocks, the universe seems to be just right for life.”
I haven't read Broca's Brain (it's sitting on the shelf), but this was the final scene in the book version of Contact, they find evidence in pi - spoilers! they're constantly evaluating pi and a pattern eventually emerges that when re-arranged forms a circle, before random numbers begin again. The issue is that we work in base 10. There would need to be a built-in 'answer' like this for every conceivable base that life forms might adopt. To be fair, I can't remember if they were evaluating pi in binary or not (it also might have been tau), if so it would make sense but would also much easier to dismiss as coincidence when there are only 2 numbers in the pattern.
@@reidsimonson Things influenced by physics. You can start with a deck of cards and be surprised that they all "happen" to be rectangular shaped, but that seems kind of silly to me. The problem is, every time we find some strangeness that can't be explained by physics, it turns out we were just lacking some puzzle pieces. Like general relativity. Not to mention the emergent properties of chaos which can lead to the so called "edge of chaos"
@@reidsimonson Do some deeper research and youll siscover that The Golden Ratio is often stretched to fit into religious landscapes , scientific reality , and the everyday world by those who strecth so many other ideas to fit their ideological beliefs.
The idea that life is a fluke is close to some of the ideas the Reapers of Mass Effect threw around. It's an interesting idea, what exactly is the universe supposed to look like, this is why I love the channel Quinn!
Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident. Your lives are measured in years, and decades, you wither and die. We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution, and existence. Before us, you are nothing, your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything.
It actually isn't, the Reapers ended up having totally different motivation. But the idea that human life is wrong is the core them of Getter Robot and its parody Gurren Lagann.
Subbed because I just finished reading blindsight/echopraxia and these are the best analysis videos I've found so far! Hope you get around to more soon, you've really only scratched the surface 😅
This scene from the book at 3:51 reminds me of The Matrix when Morpheus asks Neo "Do you think that's really air that you're breathing?", except this time flipping it around and suggesting that simulation IS reality.
The concept of universe as a program doesn't really make sense imo. Programs exist and run because of matter so... program are the universe. Therefore if the universe is a program, the universe is just... himself, with a fancy name. Cool, who care
The Firefall series is among this one-of-a-kind sci-fi. The kind that you have to grasp rather than to get, especially because of the absurdly complex use of the english lexicon by Peter Watts paralleled with extremely intricate concepts and ideas. But if you can bypass the hardship of the read, you'll discover this peculiarity that makes this series my favorite of all time. Thanks a lot for reviewing both books, it's as usual a pleasure to hear you dissect the content you're analyzing.
@John Titanfall Definitely at the same level--classics of sci-fi type of the same level. Completely different in terms of themes and writing, but if you read Blindisght, you definitely need to read this one too.
@@johntitanfall5496 The Three Body Problem is Sci Fi-fantasy regarding humanity consistently failing to solve problems until the end of the universe. Blindsight and Echopraxia are better books: you won't find yourself reading a 30 page fairytale that ends up being absolutely inconsequential for the plot. On the contrary, you'll find a full bibliography for every scientific fact that Watts wrote, even when it might seem outlandish.
Blindsight and Echopraxia are two of my favourite SF novels so I'm very excited right now to see you following up your Blindsight videos with this one, because I feel like of the two stories this one is even more fascinating than the first novel
I've wanted to write a science fiction book for 5 years ever since I randomly went into my highschool school library and read Rama and Dune and was exposed to the wonders of creativity therein. If one day your channel covers the "interesting concepts" of whatever I write, I would be both honored deeply to have been worthy and be profoundly assured that I have "made it in life".
Not universally true. It's easy to tell people "nah man just do it." But it's important to polish your skills, build experience, and define your ideas. I had so many ideas as a younger person that ended up being done already, or falling apart when I looked at them with more experience, or were just dumb. Practice is good but there's nothing wrong with saving a good idea until it's ready.
DEFINITELY recommend checking out his Rifters trilogy once you're through digesting these books! I'm getting into the third book now and my goodness is it a wild story. I looked Peter Watts up the other day to find out exactly why tf his sci-fi is SO good...Lo and behold, the man's a marine biologist, university teacher and Ph.D in zoology and resource ecology. That'll explain why all of his ideas are fleshed out down to the molecular level lmao
@@BGeezy4sheezy as a foreign reader, I have to disagree, the Rifter's Trilogy was a much easier read for me. The level of implicit in Blindsight/Echopraxia (especially Echopraxia) was just exhausting for me, although I enjoyed those books a lot of course. All in all, I didn't feel like the Rifter's Trilogy was dragging that much and I won't be able to compare it to Blindsight/Echopraxia until the third volume comes out, but to me Blindsight/Echopraxia surely feel more "surgical" whereas the Rifters Trilogy feels "exhaustive".
I picked up echopraxia a few years ago but never got around to reading it. You've definitely given me the spark of interest to start it now. Thanks Quinn! Great video as always
as a schizo who's experienced psychosis multiple times this idea messes with me. It feels like glitches in your brain manifesting to the point of being physical, and I always vainly wondered if I was God because I was manifesting my own reality (a miracle in its own way, something beyond my comprehension). It seems like the gateway to other universes to me. Even on the strongest meds with the highest doses, a feeling keeps screaming, "it's all in your head. You just need to learn to control it. It makes sense if you listen with your eyes. Wake up."
I was a god. But that was the drugs telling me so. I dont do that anymore, because it made me, well, nuts, but I still have my lucid dreams. I love them. It is very interesting when I cannot tell if its true or false. Until something happens that I know for sure cannot be real, and that pops me out of it. I guess you didnt have a choice.
I have Bipolar Disorder and I felt the same way but we can't all be God. You need to release that ego. In the same way that my "The Narrator" psychosis (A neutral, androgynous voice that narrates everything I physically do) "witnesses" me when I feel all alone my God complex was also doing something for me. I was unhappy with my lot in life and wanted so badly to believe my suffering was growing pains in a powerful transformation. Don't wait to be God. It's a bad habit and will waste your life and make your delusions more powerful and dangerous and destructive. If you dwell on them medication will never work.
"Today, a man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves." One consciousness, an imagination of ourselves. You're not wrong to think you're god, all beings are, separated into fun little toys to play around with eachother, because why not? It's that, or nothing. To the bloke who said "we can't all be god", why not? Our human minds can fragment it's own consciousness, pretending to be separate from the whole... Why can't an omnipotent being do the same, and create the universe with that God Mind?
I honestly wasn't expecting much when I clicked on it but WOW this video really is amazing. The concept of the book is much more mindblowing than I expected, and your narration sells it very well! Definitely going to check out the book now, thx
Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites. You should upload as much as you can. I'd bet my paycheck your channel will hit 1 million in no time.
This is one time I'm ok with my phone surveilling me. I asked my friend for Sci Fi books, and suddenly your videos popped up in my suggested and I've been enjoying them for the past few weeks! In fact, I've checked out some books from my library because you talked about them.
I think a lot of scientists say it. It's not 100% true with quantum randomness but at almost every level you can sum up tons of universal processes with mathematical equations. Lots of people use the term "math is the language of the universe" too I've heard.
Anymore Im coming to the belief that the most extraordinary and unlikely idea in all of science fiction is the idea that one day humanity will band together for a common cause. Also, space Gnosticism seems to be really popular right now.
What's space gnosticism? Cause Actual Gnosticism dates way back and delves into the Nag Hammaddi Library and and the Demiurge and stuff. There's no such thing. Gnosticism is gnosticism, there are no other branches to it.
@@LordDeathAku Just imagine that im rolling my eyes so far back in my head that you can see my optic nerves staring back at you. You know exactly what I meant. But sure, how about instead of a conversation we just nitpick each other's grammer like fatuous school children? Get lost.
Hi Something I have been in search for quite sometime is a connection with somebody that goes beyond vanity. It's very hard to do in this day and age. People can be, somewhat very superficial. On my quest to achieve this I have learnt a lot about human nature. It seems to me that those who are not given traits such as beauty or being wealthy are some of the nicest, kindest and generous people. While the "gorgeous" and well off seem to be the most arrogant and greedy people out there. Of course that's not to say there aren't beautiful kind people out there. I've been in the process of change for a while now and I have made some decent changes. I saw your profile and it intrigued me. I wanted to learn more about who you are and what type of path you would like on in life. Can we talk?
Well, I’m only a few minutes in and I already have a new book for my list! The concept of the Demiugre has always appealed to me… so I should thoroughly enjoy this! Thank you for sharing!!!
I've been wondering where you were. Granted, I was out of town for a while, but I thought I knew what all my favorite channels were up to. I am now working on the 3rd Children of Time book, so glad you introduced me to the series!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:29 📚 Introduction to Echopraxia and its Universe - Introduction to the book "Echopraxia," mentioning it's a sequel to "Blindsight." - Overview of the setting in late 21st century, post-first contact with alien life. - Humanity's united response to the revelation of an alien presence. 02:05 🧠 The Bicameral Order and Alternative Sciences - Introduction to the Bicameral Order, a religious group with a hive mind supercomputer. - Their methods yield more accurate understanding of the universe compared to traditional science. - Reference to vampires and zombies in the series with science-based explanations. 03:02 🌌 Digital Universe Theory - Discussion on the concept of the digital universe in the book series. - Explanation that the universe could be a form of giant computer with physics as its software. - Implications of a universe based purely on mathematical computations. 04:37 🙏 God as a Virus - The concept that God is not an entity but a process or program. - God can violate the laws of physics, leading to the idea that God could be a 'virus' in the universal operating system. - Raises questions about whether the universe is operating correctly or if it's 'bugged.' 06:11 🤔 Existential Questions about Humanity - The discussion moves to whether human life is just a byproduct of a flawed universe. - Questions the anthropocentric view that the universe was made for human life. - Introduces the idea that life could be a "parasitic offshoot" of a corrupted operating system. 07:02 🎬 Conclusion and Future Content - Summary of the depth of concepts covered in "Echopraxia." - Announcement of future videos exploring more concepts from the book. - Update on the status of a longer video that is still in theworks. Made with HARPA AI
This is fantastic stuff. Peter Watts is such a brilliant thinker: he convinced me that humans are obsessed with consciousness, when it’s really not a precondition for intelligence. What scares me is that almost all the predictions in his books have come true, and his books don’t predict a very bright future
What freaks me out is how much fiction is more reality that non-fiction, I tend to have these thoughts running in the back of my mind almost nonstop, calling God a Virus i dont think so much more like the Admin , the guy behind they keyboard who can alter the software and hardware as he sees fit and that would make us the artificial intelligence.
@@hardlife507 never seen the show, Its something the "in crowd" has always watched to me you know the over inflaited ego twits who drink trendy beersIm drink a high gravity Hurricane atm..I think my liver is packing his bag tho.
Makes me think of predestination and freewill. Before the foundations of the earth kinda stuff. Almost like the matrix idea but less silly and more scary.
Thanks for the update! In the dark a video grows to maturity. Till from the shadows it appears, formed, complete....whole. Anticipation is a powerful spice indeed 😁.
Yes! Quinn’s got the right background to take it on as sf as well as speculation. It seems like it’s goth many of the same strengths and weaknesses as Olaf Stapledon.
I have the impression that Greg Egan explored similar ideas in his novels (Luminous, Dark Integers, etc), but more on the mathematical side, discussing how a mathematical system governed by physical laws (rather than the other way around) should work. Impressively, the concept of "warfare with mathematical laws as weapons," as vaguely described by Cixin Liu, was already portrayed by Greg Egan in a detailed and convincing way back in the 90s.
I've been with your channel for a long time now (since you were "ideas of ice and fire"), and it's great to see how you've developed as a youtuber. I love your videos! That opening theme is a great addition and really sets up the vibe of cosmic unease that you're about to gift us with, it always gives me chills.
What coincidence, I just finished "Echopraxia" three days ago :) The book is great but I will definitelly have to read it again, to better grasp the ideas Peter Watts explored in this book. And as some people already stated, "Blindsight" felt more focused and coherent. Love both of this books nevertheless and highly recommend.
You will have to read it again, because you didn't understand it the first time, because it is irrational nonsensical trash written by a worthless man who hates himself. If it was profound, or sensible, you would have understood it. He just writes CLAIMS, with no reason behind them, and strings them together. You wasted that time you spent reading it once, try reading something else instead of wasting more reading it again. There IS nothing there to "understand".
This is a subject that puts me into deep thought! It was something I thought of before but could never put into words like this What if life as we know is is a result of a mathematical error? I know it’s a completely different book, but it sort of makes me think of the whole “answer to life, the universe and everything” from Hitchhiker’s Guide. The original “deep thought” computer comes up with an answer , 42, but it’s makers are confused. So the computer makes another to find “the question to the answer” well later in the series, two characters try to sit down and figure it out. It was never directly stated but their conversation eventually leads to the conclusion that the answer was the result of a mathematical error. When I figured that out, that idea stuck with me! I definitely need to check this book out!
There’s a higher probability by magnitudes that all of life is a Boltzmann Brain, essentially a blip in the fluctuations of the universe, a self evolved brain, not a result of evolutionary processes etc
This concept of the universe and of “God” has been pretty much the closest to an acceptable fathomable and most probable truth of any that I’ve known and idk if it’s odd to anyone else, but I’ve pretty much genuinely subscribed to it for quite a long time now. Process theology and the concept of a meta-God is actually far older than you might think! It may also be a bit more obscure than I’ve come to realize and a bit shocking at first. Great video
@@Meta_MyselfI didn’t say I think God is a virus. More of an adaptive process AND the system itself. Up to and including sentient life. Think pantheism through the eyes of a programmer or systems theorist.
my only problem with the idea of not thinking that humans are the point to being human is that... well, we're here and nobody else is. so even if it wasn't on purpose, we really are the main show. there's literally nothing else on rn.
But there’s no way currently of knowing that we are the main show, in our current limited perspective we are but maybe in the other side of the galaxy there’s another intelligent species thinking the same
"Humankind tends to be very anthropocentric, we tend to see ourselves as the centre of the universe." Yeah no shit, we view everything from the perspective of a human. We are the centre of our observable universe, so why wouldn't there be a bias? Always found that 'revelation' a bit underwhelming.
This is not a sci-fi book but I think you would be interested in reading the book At Home in the Universe by Stuart Kauffman. he describes the phenomenon of self-organization in complex systems leading to the spontaneous creation of "higher" entities with particular focus on life and self-aware intelligence as emergent phenomena. I found it a very fascinating book and I am sure that you and others will too.
The way you described the Digital Universe, everything being math, is exactly how I started viewing the universe after a generous amount of psilocybin. I wonder if the author had the same experience.
How do psylocibine, DMT, mescaline and other such mind-expanding substances fit into a purely mathematical, number-based, simulated universe? What then are feelings purely in themselves beyond biochemical processes? What exactly is it that triggers these processes? Two big questions bro
Damn Quinn! You make some amazing content! Tbh I don’t read much fiction, and honestly don’t even have much interest in sci fi, but it’s usually the aesthetics that turn me off, but I LOVE the way you extract the most fascinating ideas from the source material and give me some of my favorite what ifs? And thought experiments. Please keep it up for years to come! One of the greatest of life’s little pleasures is seeing a new post from this channel!
both echopraxia and blindsight seems to be really interesting book, and as someone who believes life is some kind of a simulation, im definitely gonna read them as soon as possible also vampires got me really interested too
@Quinn's Ideas - I love this book and how it addresses the idea of G-d in a Sci-Fi setting. It's as if they made G-d to be both Azathoth from the Cthulhu Mythos and the Demiurge from Gnosticism.
There is no difference between humans and animals. Look at the Dolphin. Look at the Macaw. Their thoughts aren’t readable by us yes, but then again-would an Advanced Species that has transcended the cage of its home planet think that we are sapient? Everything is relative.
Have you covered Johnny Appleseed by John Clute? It's one the greatest space opera ever written. It's one of the seminal sci Fi novel written by a deeply respected author. The ideas and prose predate the 3 body problem and does so with incredible creativity. You should do a series on that book!!
Would you ever want to do a video on Ursala K. Le Guin's Hainish Cyle? There are a lot of good books in the series and some interesting idea to explore.
Couldn't God also be an administrator/developer with elevated priviledges and an open command prompt? Virus would imply He's an outsider and not a "caretaker"
The idea that a species could exist that has no consciousness but is yet still so much more intelligent than us just reflexively is truly terrifying.
The main problem I see in such concepts is how are they supposed to evolve to such a high complexity state? Human civilization works like a competition. Every cooperation is emergent and not a "built-in synergy". So these aliens must work like separate enormous hives each with common center, not a group of individuals. (Which doesn't disprove anything, it just means that a single "one" of this organisms must be incredibly complex to encapsulate a space civilization worth of knowledge.)
Wait, isn't it just tiranids with extra steps?
Also very silly.
Good thing that it's just that, an idea and not reality
@@AbsoluteHuman That would or could essentially function like the internet in a way. Think about it, we already have animals on Earth that display hive behavior like bees and ants and we still aren't sure exactly how it works fully. If an organism managed to evolve a more advanced form of hive intelligence, it could function like the internet essentially where there is a center for information that can be accessed by any individual at any time for reasons such as obtaining their orders or sharing or absorbing information. It is fun to think about really.
We have no idea how far evolution can go and there is always the prospect that organisms can manipulate their own evolution with technology like we are beginning to do. They could build themselves an internet like hub that anyone can access telepathically at any instance to the point you don't even need to construct a thought because something else can construct it for you. THAT would be truly scary.
The concept of "The universe isn't working as intended and that's actually good for us, because we are anomalous" is a fun one to explore. If I remember correctly, more than one articles on the SCP wiki play with something like this.
Could you give an example? I would love to read some 😁
@@Kick0a0cat One of the SCP 001 proposals do this I think. Its the one where Human conscience is unique in the universe, and all other life is vastly different. I think the proposal is called "Humanity at Large," or something like that.
@@chrisguine2473 Thank you!
Technically the very first SCP (if i remember correctly, one of them, not the factory) says that humanity itself is an SCP, i may be wrong and it may from some video i've seen XD
@@IncTheCredible There are so many conflicting narratives in the SCP universe, so I don't doubt it.
the idea of the universe not being the way it is supposed to be is so fucking terrifying.
Is it? It's basically a coin flip so really just it's as terrifying as flipping a quarter.
Really? That's the premise of literally every religion that has a concept of evil or sin.
You messed up by assuming the universe has certain way of doing things
I mean I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're living in that universe. There was supposed to be an equal amount of matter and antimatter at the beginning of the universe and theyd annihilate eachother, leaving the universe empty. But something evidently went wrong, and now theres a lot of matter, and no visible antimatter.
Just wait until the anti virus software is run
Nice to see somebody acknowledge that "universe as computation" has deeper implications than most of the simulation talk I encounter being as if we live in a video game or such.
for real
We probably do.
But does the distinction even really exist?
@@kamikeserpentail3778 : weather in a game or just the few neurons firing as some entity dream us up, it requires something that exists by extension we exist.
@@kamikeserpentail3778 does it matter? everything works fine the way it does, right?
Computations imply that it is running on something, therefore simulation. Cant get around it.
I’m a simple man. I see Quinn’s ideas posting existential crises…I click
I hardscoped it as soon as I saw it haha I love this channel ngl.
lol same.
i'm trying to be neutral, but it happens every darn time!!: quinn recommends a book, it goes on my list.
it just happens automatically 😶🌫
Tea and a mental breakdown? Why yes I’ll pencil myself in lol
@@Shinypiggy101 *phapp!*
That digital physics concept is wild. While I was in physics in highschool, I had a similar thought completely on my own. But my idea was that we are 'compilers' or 'interpreters' of the universe, like in a programming language, converting the matter we interact with into abstract concepts with meanings attached to them, like code is compiled into interactive programs
I love this idea
Before life was here to perceive and quantify time, everything before life mine as well had happened instantly or for an eternity. Those massive time scales truelly have no meaning
Nothing new,whole time you got digital universe as only existence,while monsters are hidden and controling,and god as evil entity.
The scary thing about Science Fiction isn't that these ideas necessarily exist in our universe, but that these ideas could exist in SOME universe out there. That the possibility exists. it's terrifying and exciting at the same time.
the posibility only for 1 universe to exist is even way more scary
@@notoriousbig3k the universe might be so vast that there could be millions of planets which look exactly the same as earth with multiple versions of you on them. The theory of multiverse doesn't necessarily mean multiple universes as we know them, but it could also mean one giant universe that encompasses every possible thing that could happen/exist. Obviously it would be bound by the same law's of physics, but it's something to think about.
@@SamogitianJesusi‘ve adopted the term “omniverse” for that very reason.
We don't know for sure if they exist or not in our universe only time will tell.
@@SamogitianJesus throw in different dimensional states of a universe. Could be one as well as several universes with completely different natural laws. One does not negate the other. But the one universe is most likely true in any case. The other one would be impossible to prove
I have been turned on to a bunch of new sci-fi books thanks to your videos. Your have never steered me wrong and I thank you so much for your insights.
I simply love the amount of work you put into the descriptions.
Truely a masterclass of hard work. 🫡
Everytime I come back to your channel you seem to cover another book I've read in the last 2 years. It's just great! Thank you.
I'm reading "Echopraxia" right now, having finished "Blindsight" a couple days ago. Don't know quite what to think about either, at this point, as I am still digesting, though I am enjoying the story. Peter Watts has great footnotes at the end of Blindsight that point to some really interesting books about consciousness that I'm going to have to read as soon as I'm done with "Echopraxia". Among them "The Ego Tunnel: The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self," by Thomas Metzinger. Thanks for an excellent review.
Blindsight has sent me down so many rabbit holes, including Thomas Metzinger and Susan Blackmore on consciousness, Hartman and Fisher and Thacker and others on concepts related to speculative realism, on and on. I’ve got Echopraxia here for later this year, and if it has even a tenth as much impact on me, it’ll be time well spent.
Do you follow his blog? Cuz he’s constantly throwing me down rabbit holes.
@@SuperSecretAgentNein I do not, but I will now. Thanks for the tip.
@@Sharkman1963 Me too!
Jesus Christ is God and Lord of all creation.
Thanks! You turned me on to so much great literature TY
I thought this was going to be about Snow Crash, wherein viruses, language, and religion are theorized to be a sort of trinity that modern humanity sprang from. It's worth a read, pretty mind blowing.
Similarly Greg Egans Permutation City that’s another one that comes to mind
Great book
I remember reading some weird theory on a fringe internet page a decade ago that was kind of like that - that people in the far past didn't have thoughts or an internal monologue, that the first "gods" or "spirits" were actually an expression of that "voice in your head" phenomenon as it developed.
@ZarHakkar this might be a fun read, would u mind to send a link or something? Would really appreciate it
@@mess5142 Bro I'm sorry to say I have no idea what the website was or if it even exists anymore. Not even Google works the same as it used to, so good luck finding if it still exists.
I'm glad you covered the Firefall duology. Brilliant world building and terrifying themes, the only issue I feel is that echopraxia is a lot more jumbled and unfocused. Blindsight felt more coherent and is my favourite of the two because of that. I'd still recommend both if you want some challenging hard sci Fi that's written with exceptional prose.
I agree. I was able to follow Blindsight, but I still feel like I need to re-read Echopraxia to really understand it.
Echopraxia DEFINITE felt way less focused. It also had a bigger issue with cherry-picking, and contradictory assertions.
Accurate.
I love Echopraxia but maaan, writing a book from the perspective of a dog trying to understand human quantum physics, while an admirable attempt, was maybe Watts biting off more than he can chew. The entire book is Bruks basically saying “this is maybe my best guess as to what the hell is going on around me, but I’m not even capable of knowing for sure.”
That’s the entire point of the story. Brucks only makes one decision in the entire book
I love Peter Watts' Starfish/Rifters trilogy so much... I read it usually once every few months, Blindsight maybe twice, but both books are a major bullet point emotionally for points of time in my life.
Thanks for doing a video on ONE of his works!
Blindsight and Echopraxia are one of my favourite sci-fi books! So cool to see you make a vid on Echopraxia too now.
Blindsight and Echopraxia are both brilliant. "Space Vampires" really didn't seem to hold much promise, but I was left thinking and asking myself questions. That is what I really want from my science fiction.
@There is zero pictures of earth from space. It's shaped like a duck.
😂
@There is zero pictures of earth from space. Your endless useless spam shows that your brain is flat.
Very very flat.
Yeah I was put off by that when I first started Blindsight.
"Vampires? In my hard sci-fi? Really?"
But Valerie ended up being my favorite character in Echopraxia.
It hurts me that you encountered someone who summarised Blindsight as ‘vampires in space’.
You got me trying to come up with equally misleading and terrible summaries of other classic novels:
Slaughterhouse-Five; ‘aliens that look like toilet plungers’
1984; ‘people *think* it is the 1980s but it is really the future’
Lord of the Rings; ‘what if people, but smaller?!’
Dune; ‘people who really love eating worm poop’
Roadside Picnic; ‘what if aliens turned your daughter into a monkey?!’
inspiring to see all these fresh young commenters being introduced to digital physics, information theory, constructive mathematics, etc
Carl Sagan mentioned something like this in 'Broca's Brain'. The idea that if god existed as some kind universal intelligence that we would be able to find evidence for it in the mathematics of the universe, we'd find certain number systems that could point to some kind of intelligence that couldn't be explained by physics. It was the closest he ever came to entertaining some concept of a 'god'.
Now I'm going to have to add those two books to my ever growing pile.. thank you.
“Scientists are slowly waking up to an inconvenient truth - the universe looks suspiciously like a fix. The issue concerns the very laws of nature themselves. For 40 years, physicists and cosmologists have been quietly collecting examples of all too convenient "coincidences" and special features in the underlying laws of the universe that seem to be necessary in order for life, and hence conscious beings, to exist. Change any one of them and the consequences would be lethal. Fred Hoyle, the distinguished cosmologist, once said it was as if "a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics".
To see the problem, imagine playing God with the cosmos. Before you is a designer machine that lets you tinker with the basics of physics. Twiddle this knob and you make all electrons a bit lighter, twiddle that one and you make gravity a bit stronger, and so on. It happens that you need to set thirtysomething knobs to fully describe the world about us. The crucial point is that some of those metaphorical knobs must be tuned very precisely, or the universe would be sterile.
Example: neutrons are just a tad heavier than protons. If it were the other way around, atoms couldn't exist, because all the protons in the universe would have decayed into neutrons shortly after the big bang. No protons, then no atomic nucleuses and no atoms. No atoms, no chemistry, no life. Like Baby Bear's porridge in the story of Goldilocks, the universe seems to be just right for life.”
I haven't read Broca's Brain (it's sitting on the shelf), but this was the final scene in the book version of Contact, they find evidence in pi - spoilers! they're constantly evaluating pi and a pattern eventually emerges that when re-arranged forms a circle, before random numbers begin again. The issue is that we work in base 10. There would need to be a built-in 'answer' like this for every conceivable base that life forms might adopt. To be fair, I can't remember if they were evaluating pi in binary or not (it also might have been tau), if so it would make sense but would also much easier to dismiss as coincidence when there are only 2 numbers in the pattern.
You mean like all these divine numbers and algorithms that just “naturally” occur? Golden ratio comes to mind.
@@reidsimonson Things influenced by physics.
You can start with a deck of cards and be surprised that they all "happen" to be rectangular shaped, but that seems kind of silly to me.
The problem is, every time we find some strangeness that can't be explained by physics, it turns out we were just lacking some puzzle pieces. Like general relativity.
Not to mention the emergent properties of chaos which can lead to the so called "edge of chaos"
@@reidsimonson
Do some deeper research and youll siscover that The Golden Ratio is often stretched to fit into religious landscapes , scientific reality , and the everyday world by those who strecth so many other ideas to fit their ideological beliefs.
The idea that life is a fluke is close to some of the ideas the Reapers of Mass Effect threw around. It's an interesting idea, what exactly is the universe supposed to look like, this is why I love the channel Quinn!
And ties-in to the religious idea of the wrold being imperfect/fallen.
Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident.
Your lives are measured in years, and decades, you wither and die.
We are eternal, the pinnacle of evolution, and existence.
Before us, you are nothing, your extinction is inevitable.
We are the end of everything.
I mean, depending on what ideas on the formation of the universe you subscribe to then it’s not too far off to say our reality is a fluke, yes
It actually isn't, the Reapers ended up having totally different motivation. But the idea that human life is wrong is the core them of Getter Robot and its parody Gurren Lagann.
humans as dissise or expendable isin't new
Subbed because I just finished reading blindsight/echopraxia and these are the best analysis videos I've found so far! Hope you get around to more soon, you've really only scratched the surface 😅
This scene from the book at 3:51 reminds me of The Matrix when Morpheus asks Neo "Do you think that's really air that you're breathing?", except this time flipping it around and suggesting that simulation IS reality.
Kant vs Hegel
@@sstuddert
Kant and Schopenhauer are much, much better than Hegel.
Do not twist my words.
The concept of universe as a program doesn't really make sense imo. Programs exist and run because of matter so... program are the universe.
Therefore if the universe is a program, the universe is just... himself, with a fancy name.
Cool, who care
The Firefall series is among this one-of-a-kind sci-fi. The kind that you have to grasp rather than to get, especially because of the absurdly complex use of the english lexicon by Peter Watts paralleled with extremely intricate concepts and ideas. But if you can bypass the hardship of the read, you'll discover this peculiarity that makes this series my favorite of all time. Thanks a lot for reviewing both books, it's as usual a pleasure to hear you dissect the content you're analyzing.
Cannot wait for the third book, whenever that happens!
@tommyatomic We'll be waiting forever it seems. But I do hope he gets around to it eventually - preferably sometime sooner rather than later.
Think it’s on the same level as the three body problem? Just finished reading that might try this
@John Titanfall Definitely at the same level--classics of sci-fi type of the same level. Completely different in terms of themes and writing, but if you read Blindisght, you definitely need to read this one too.
@@johntitanfall5496 The Three Body Problem is Sci Fi-fantasy regarding humanity consistently failing to solve problems until the end of the universe. Blindsight and Echopraxia are better books: you won't find yourself reading a 30 page fairytale that ends up being absolutely inconsequential for the plot. On the contrary, you'll find a full bibliography for every scientific fact that Watts wrote, even when it might seem outlandish.
The title alone had me subbing. Thanks for covering these topics!!! ❤❤❤
Blindsight and Echopraxia are two of my favourite SF novels so I'm very excited right now to see you following up your Blindsight videos with this one, because I feel like of the two stories this one is even more fascinating than the first novel
You should read Three Body Problem
I've wanted to write a science fiction book for 5 years ever since I randomly went into my highschool school library and read Rama and Dune and was exposed to the wonders of creativity therein. If one day your channel covers the "interesting concepts" of whatever I write, I would be both honored deeply to have been worthy and be profoundly assured that I have "made it in life".
That is to say your content is wonderful, keep it up. 💙
this guy
Just start. Don't wait, it only leads to regret that you didn't start sooner.
Not universally true. It's easy to tell people "nah man just do it." But it's important to polish your skills, build experience, and define your ideas.
I had so many ideas as a younger person that ended up being done already, or falling apart when I looked at them with more experience, or were just dumb.
Practice is good but there's nothing wrong with saving a good idea until it's ready.
Iv been writing one, trust me its worth the wait
Found your channel just a couple days ago and I've been binging all your content. Perfect for sci fi geeks. Great stuff man!
DEFINITELY recommend checking out his Rifters trilogy once you're through digesting these books! I'm getting into the third book now and my goodness is it a wild story.
I looked Peter Watts up the other day to find out exactly why tf his sci-fi is SO good...Lo and behold, the man's a marine biologist, university teacher and Ph.D in zoology and resource ecology. That'll explain why all of his ideas are fleshed out down to the molecular level lmao
I love Peter Watts, and Starfish is amazing, but the rest of the series is not an easy read. They’re conceptually incredible, but kind of a slog
@@BGeezy4sheezy as a foreign reader, I have to disagree, the Rifter's Trilogy was a much easier read for me. The level of implicit in Blindsight/Echopraxia (especially Echopraxia) was just exhausting for me, although I enjoyed those books a lot of course. All in all, I didn't feel like the Rifter's Trilogy was dragging that much and I won't be able to compare it to Blindsight/Echopraxia until the third volume comes out, but to me Blindsight/Echopraxia surely feel more "surgical" whereas the Rifters Trilogy feels "exhaustive".
The Rifter's trilogy to me was carried by the interesting science, and in no small part to some interesting, if not inherently effed up characters.
I picked up echopraxia a few years ago but never got around to reading it. You've definitely given me the spark of interest to start it now. Thanks Quinn! Great video as always
I like your voice. You’re pleasant to listen to and I think your voice with the content you’re making is a good combination.
as a schizo who's experienced psychosis multiple times this idea messes with me. It feels like glitches in your brain manifesting to the point of being physical, and I always vainly wondered if I was God because I was manifesting my own reality (a miracle in its own way, something beyond my comprehension). It seems like the gateway to other universes to me. Even on the strongest meds with the highest doses, a feeling keeps screaming, "it's all in your head. You just need to learn to control it. It makes sense if you listen with your eyes. Wake up."
I was a god. But that was the drugs telling me so. I dont do that anymore, because it made me, well, nuts, but I still have my lucid dreams. I love them. It is very interesting when I cannot tell if its true or false. Until something happens that I know for sure cannot be real, and that pops me out of it. I guess you didnt have a choice.
I have Bipolar Disorder and I felt the same way but we can't all be God. You need to release that ego. In the same way that my "The Narrator" psychosis (A neutral, androgynous voice that narrates everything I physically do) "witnesses" me when I feel all alone my God complex was also doing something for me. I was unhappy with my lot in life and wanted so badly to believe my suffering was growing pains in a powerful transformation. Don't wait to be God. It's a bad habit and will waste your life and make your delusions more powerful and dangerous and destructive. If you dwell on them medication will never work.
"Today, a man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves."
One consciousness, an imagination of ourselves.
You're not wrong to think you're god, all beings are, separated into fun little toys to play around with eachother, because why not? It's that, or nothing.
To the bloke who said "we can't all be god", why not? Our human minds can fragment it's own consciousness, pretending to be separate from the whole... Why can't an omnipotent being do the same, and create the universe with that God Mind?
The Bible cured me of schizophrenia and can cure you too.
@@stevenhetzel6483This comment summarizes it neatly
This is why I am subscribed to this channel. Right here. Quinn is not just another Sci Fi reviewer. He has some big ideas to share.
We fortnite?
This is my favorite channel ❤ thank you Quin we appreciate all your hard work.
I honestly wasn't expecting much when I clicked on it but WOW this video really is amazing. The concept of the book is much more mindblowing than I expected, and your narration sells it very well! Definitely going to check out the book now, thx
Your channel is quickly becoming one of my favorites. You should upload as much as you can. I'd bet my paycheck your channel will hit 1 million in no time.
Your channel is one of the best ones I know. Thank you!
This is one time I'm ok with my phone surveilling me. I asked my friend for Sci Fi books, and suddenly your videos popped up in my suggested and I've been enjoying them for the past few weeks! In fact, I've checked out some books from my library because you talked about them.
I disabled the personalization and now i get to your commentary, no shit this isn't coincidence.
tool
@@Bakumatsu1 🐑
I've been thinking for a while about how math is literally a language of the universe and I'm happy someone sees it too
I think a lot of scientists say it. It's not 100% true with quantum randomness but at almost every level you can sum up tons of universal processes with mathematical equations. Lots of people use the term "math is the language of the universe" too I've heard.
@@heliothrax7716 really? Well that's a way to boost ego
Math is necessary, to understand why, we exist and comprehend the reality but at the same time it's sucks to learn algebra
Math is necessary, to understand why, we exist and comprehend the reality but at the same time it's sucks to learn algebra
Math is an abbreviation of the universe, if it was perfect it would be far too complex to be even remotely useful.
Just found your channel through the Neuromancer interpretation. Your content is excellent. Please continue!!!!
You got me into Blingsight and I loved it so much I read Echopraxia weeks later. Thank you for enticing me to read these books.
Anymore Im coming to the belief that the most extraordinary and unlikely idea in all of science fiction is the idea that one day humanity will band together for a common cause.
Also, space Gnosticism seems to be really popular right now.
What's space gnosticism? Cause Actual Gnosticism dates way back and delves into the Nag Hammaddi Library and and the Demiurge and stuff. There's no such thing. Gnosticism is gnosticism, there are no other branches to it.
There will always be contrarians, deniers and conspiracists. It's in our nature.
@@LordDeathAku Gnosticism, in space
@@Deuce510 you could just say Gnosticism. It's universal
@@LordDeathAku Just imagine that im rolling my eyes so far back in my head that you can see my optic nerves staring back at you. You know exactly what I meant. But sure, how about instead of a conversation we just nitpick each other's grammer like fatuous school children? Get lost.
Beautifully crafted questionings. Many thanks for the exposition to these concepts, your content is great.
I love that you explain juuust enough of the series to get us interested, but then you know where to stop to get to pick up the book.
Sus
So happy to see this book being discussed! One of the most thought provoking series
Hi
Something I have been in search for quite sometime is a connection with somebody that goes beyond vanity. It's very hard to do in this day and age. People can be, somewhat very superficial.
On my quest to achieve this I have learnt a lot about human nature. It seems to me that those who are not given traits such as beauty or being wealthy are some of the nicest, kindest and generous people.
While the "gorgeous" and well off seem to be the most arrogant and greedy people out there. Of course that's not to say there aren't beautiful kind people out there.
I've been in the process of change for a while now and I have made some decent changes.
I saw your profile and it intrigued me. I wanted to learn more about who you are and what type of path you would like on in life.
Can we talk?
Can't wait to get these two books !!!
Well, I’m only a few minutes in and I already have a new book for my list!
The concept of the Demiugre has always appealed to me… so I should thoroughly enjoy this! Thank you for sharing!!!
I've been wondering where you were. Granted, I was out of town for a while, but I thought I knew what all my favorite channels were up to. I am now working on the 3rd Children of Time book, so glad you introduced me to the series!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:29 📚 Introduction to Echopraxia and its Universe
- Introduction to the book "Echopraxia," mentioning it's a sequel to "Blindsight."
- Overview of the setting in late 21st century, post-first contact with alien life.
- Humanity's united response to the revelation of an alien presence.
02:05 🧠 The Bicameral Order and Alternative Sciences
- Introduction to the Bicameral Order, a religious group with a hive mind supercomputer.
- Their methods yield more accurate understanding of the universe compared to traditional science.
- Reference to vampires and zombies in the series with science-based explanations.
03:02 🌌 Digital Universe Theory
- Discussion on the concept of the digital universe in the book series.
- Explanation that the universe could be a form of giant computer with physics as its software.
- Implications of a universe based purely on mathematical computations.
04:37 🙏 God as a Virus
- The concept that God is not an entity but a process or program.
- God can violate the laws of physics, leading to the idea that God could be a 'virus' in the universal operating system.
- Raises questions about whether the universe is operating correctly or if it's 'bugged.'
06:11 🤔 Existential Questions about Humanity
- The discussion moves to whether human life is just a byproduct of a flawed universe.
- Questions the anthropocentric view that the universe was made for human life.
- Introduces the idea that life could be a "parasitic offshoot" of a corrupted operating system.
07:02 🎬 Conclusion and Future Content
- Summary of the depth of concepts covered in "Echopraxia."
- Announcement of future videos exploring more concepts from the book.
- Update on the status of a longer video that is still in theworks.
Made with HARPA AI
This is fantastic stuff. Peter Watts is such a brilliant thinker: he convinced me that humans are obsessed with consciousness, when it’s really not a precondition for intelligence. What scares me is that almost all the predictions in his books have come true, and his books don’t predict a very bright future
😂😂
Could you give some examples?
An example would be nice👀
Any day now, he'll expound on this comment.
Surely.
Like, for sure.
Here for it
I barely read fiction let alone science fiction but I absolutely love your breakdown of ideas within them
ok but your cosmos visuals are stunning 🤩🤩✨✨
What freaks me out is how much fiction is more reality that non-fiction, I tend to have these thoughts running in the back of my mind almost nonstop, calling God a Virus i dont think so much more like the Admin , the guy behind they keyboard who can alter the software and hardware as he sees fit and that would make us the artificial intelligence.
Your just gods dream, your him bro
As above so below
Reminds me of the Rick and Morty episode with the battery.
@@hardlife507 never seen the show, Its something the "in crowd" has always watched to me you know the over inflaited ego twits who drink trendy beersIm drink a high gravity Hurricane atm..I think my liver is packing his bag tho.
Makes me think of predestination and freewill. Before the foundations of the earth kinda stuff. Almost like the matrix idea but less silly and more scary.
Very cool concept. Looking forward to a deeper dive on this one.
Thanks for the video. I couldn't finish it before I've read this book, but I liked it for the recommendation.
Thanks for the update! In the dark a video grows to maturity. Till from the shadows it appears, formed, complete....whole. Anticipation is a powerful spice indeed 😁.
Would love to see Quinn do a video on All Tomorrows. Now that’s a trippy and awesome sci fi story.
Yes! Quinn’s got the right background to take it on as sf as well as speculation. It seems like it’s goth many of the same strengths and weaknesses as Olaf Stapledon.
@@MriInterocitor Alt Shift X already did a video, but Quinn always adds a new perspective and I want to know his thoughts on it.
@@WMFilms25 Alt Shift X's video was amazing!
@There is zero pictures of earth from space. yes
Your presentations are always great dude ❤
I have the impression that Greg Egan explored similar ideas in his novels (Luminous, Dark Integers, etc), but more on the mathematical side, discussing how a mathematical system governed by physical laws (rather than the other way around) should work. Impressively, the concept of "warfare with mathematical laws as weapons," as vaguely described by Cixin Liu, was already portrayed by Greg Egan in a detailed and convincing way back in the 90s.
Fascinating idea. Thank you for the video, Quinn.
Damn, I'm gonna find this book right away!! Thanks for the hint.
Thank you for your hard work, we all appreciate it. You are an incredible, amazing, wonderful, and beautiful person. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I double this🎉🎉🎉
I've been with your channel for a long time now (since you were "ideas of ice and fire"), and it's great to see how you've developed as a youtuber. I love your videos! That opening theme is a great addition and really sets up the vibe of cosmic unease that you're about to gift us with, it always gives me chills.
The whole solar system is flat. Didn't you read Death's End by Cixin Liu?
You are on fire! Excellent work
I got the three-body problem books. I love them so much.
What coincidence, I just finished "Echopraxia" three days ago :) The book is great but I will definitelly have to read it again, to better grasp the ideas Peter Watts explored in this book. And as some people already stated, "Blindsight" felt more focused and coherent. Love both of this books nevertheless and highly recommend.
You think I can read and understand this? I’m a 15 year old.
You will have to read it again, because you didn't understand it the first time, because it is irrational nonsensical trash written by a worthless man who hates himself.
If it was profound, or sensible, you would have understood it. He just writes CLAIMS, with no reason behind them, and strings them together.
You wasted that time you spent reading it once, try reading something else instead of wasting more reading it again. There IS nothing there to "understand".
God cannot be a virus since He is the Creator of the system itself (the source of eternity).
@@nkm08You should try Blindsight first, I think its easier
@@uncletiggermclaren7592blud gtfo out of here if you are some religious nut. this isn’t a space for those who cannot cope with experimental ideas
This is a subject that puts me into deep thought! It was something I thought of before but could never put into words like this
What if life as we know is is a result of a mathematical error?
I know it’s a completely different book, but it sort of makes me think of the whole “answer to life, the universe and everything” from Hitchhiker’s Guide. The original “deep thought” computer comes up with an answer , 42, but it’s makers are confused. So the computer makes another to find “the question to the answer” well later in the series, two characters try to sit down and figure it out. It was never directly stated but their conversation eventually leads to the conclusion that the answer was the result of a mathematical error. When I figured that out, that idea stuck with me!
I definitely need to check this book out!
There’s a higher probability by magnitudes that all of life is a Boltzmann Brain, essentially a blip in the fluctuations of the universe, a self evolved brain, not a result of evolutionary processes etc
Very interesting. God as a rogue virus would explain a lot.
God definitely isn't a virus.
And there's *evidence* for his existence.
This book plot in a nutshell:
Dev thoughts at 3am while working overtime
This concept honestly is amazing! Makes me think of what corrections the universe would try to do to remove g-d
God tries to kill himself. Accidentally creates another universe. 🤷♀
🤥
Now this is something I've often contemplated
This video has deffo impacted me more than i thought
This concept of the universe and of “God” has been pretty much the closest to an acceptable fathomable and most probable truth of any that I’ve known and idk if it’s odd to anyone else, but I’ve pretty much genuinely subscribed to it for quite a long time now. Process theology and the concept of a meta-God is actually far older than you might think! It may also be a bit more obscure than I’ve come to realize and a bit shocking at first. Great video
God cannot be a virus since He is the Creator of the system itself (the source of eternity).
@@Meta_MyselfI didn’t say I think God is a virus. More of an adaptive process AND the system itself. Up to and including sentient life. Think pantheism through the eyes of a programmer or systems theorist.
@@SpinSurgery
Adapting to what?
my only problem with the idea of not thinking that humans are the point to being human is that... well, we're here and nobody else is. so even if it wasn't on purpose, we really are the main show. there's literally nothing else on rn.
But there’s no way currently of knowing that we are the main show, in our current limited perspective we are but maybe in the other side of the galaxy there’s another intelligent species thinking the same
@@LucasMartins-jx4pi different cable company, this one's cheaper
Humans 😂
Y'all haven't seen south park
"Humankind tends to be very anthropocentric, we tend to see ourselves as the centre of the universe."
Yeah no shit, we view everything from the perspective of a human. We are the centre of our observable universe, so why wouldn't there be a bias?
Always found that 'revelation' a bit underwhelming.
This is not a sci-fi book but I think you would be interested in reading the book At Home in the Universe by Stuart Kauffman. he describes the phenomenon of self-organization in complex systems leading to the spontaneous creation of "higher" entities with particular focus on life and self-aware intelligence as emergent phenomena. I found it a very fascinating book and I am sure that you and others will too.
Wha Wha and wha
The way you described the Digital Universe, everything being math, is exactly how I started viewing the universe after a generous amount of psilocybin. I wonder if the author had the same experience.
@@Beanbeeb I watched that episode too!
@There is zero pictures of earth from space. No.
@There is zero pictures of earth from space. lol
How do psylocibine, DMT, mescaline and other such mind-expanding substances fit into a purely mathematical, number-based, simulated universe?
What then are feelings purely in themselves beyond biochemical processes? What exactly is it that triggers these processes?
Two big questions bro
Again a nice video. : ) Thank you for sharing.
“Stupidity ain’t a virus. But it sure does spread like one.” -Sandy Cheeks (SpongeBob).
That sounds very Mark Twain.
Yeah the book was telling how the God meme and similar concepts persisted via shortcomings of human mind like pareidolia .
Damn Quinn! You make some amazing content! Tbh I don’t read much fiction, and honestly don’t even have much interest in sci fi, but it’s usually the aesthetics that turn me off, but I LOVE the way you extract the most fascinating ideas from the source material and give me some of my favorite what ifs? And thought experiments.
Please keep it up for years to come! One of the greatest of life’s little pleasures is seeing a new post from this channel!
Interesting video, and well narrated. You have a good voice!
I thought immediately of the cruciform virus from Hyperion Cantos. Scary stuff ☠
both echopraxia and blindsight seems to be really interesting book, and as someone who believes life is some kind of a simulation, im definitely gonna read them as soon as possible
also vampires got me really interested too
So happy that Watt's books finally gain some wider audience.
this channel is always so full of fascinating settings, love it
@Quinn's Ideas - I love this book and how it addresses the idea of G-d in a Sci-Fi setting. It's as if they made G-d to be both Azathoth from the Cthulhu Mythos and the Demiurge from Gnosticism.
Eyyy i read blindsight and ecopraxia last summer. Great stuff
imagine we were the only self aware being the aliens are just doing not realizing
Imagine you're the only self aware person
Or are you? *Vsauce music starts*
Kind of a dumb thought
This is the difference between animals and Humans.
There is no difference between humans and animals.
Look at the Dolphin. Look at the Macaw.
Their thoughts aren’t readable by us yes, but then again-would an Advanced Species that has transcended the cage of its home planet think that we are sapient?
Everything is relative.
Have you covered Johnny Appleseed by John Clute? It's one the greatest space opera ever written. It's one of the seminal sci Fi novel written by a deeply respected author. The ideas and prose predate the 3 body problem and does so with incredible creativity. You should do a series on that book!!
The way it clicked in my mind reading the title, this got me good
When you read the lines that lead to the premise of this video... goosebumps. The idea is so magnificently horrifying.
TH-cam has been trying to make watch it for 6 months 😭😭😭
A wild concept, love it.
The idea of God is fine, but it is so silly and arrogant for humans to think that an omnipotent being would have the same morality code that we do.
Would you ever want to do a video on Ursala K. Le Guin's Hainish Cyle? There are a lot of good books in the series and some interesting idea to explore.
These are the kind of videos that make me rethink life as a whole
Couldn't God also be an administrator/developer with elevated priviledges and an open command prompt? Virus would imply He's an outsider and not a "caretaker"
anything that violates the program IS NOT A CARETAKER
I was thinking about this recently. On cosmic scales, baryonic matter looks a little like mould running through cheese (like Stilton).
God cannot be a virus since He is the Creator of the system itself (the source of eternity).
This video absolutely slapped my boots off
This video scared the shit out of me, and with my dissociative disorder that's hard to truly, existentially do. Great job.
I was never a book worm.. after watching videos of you I've bought so many books.. that my parents have started to worry.😂
PLEAZZE TELL THEM IT’ZZ ALL FINE BZZ NO HARM TO TERREZZTIAL CARBONACEOUZZ LIFE FORMZZ AT THIZZ TIME
:)
All that reading and you wrote has instead of have. 😅
@@yaelz6043 I blame autocorrect for that one. Its grammar is erratic and impulsive.
@@MriInterocitor yeah it has some weird programming in there. Kinda like God.
@@yaelz6043 happy bro🙂🥲
I just finished this book and I'm devastated by the ending