the "impossibilities" of science.

[fulano]

Hi, I've been reading a bit these past few months about a certain concept that people refer to as "The Technological Singularity", a hypothetical moment when humanity's technological development will start escalating at breakneck pace, enough to change our very identity as a species, and it got me thinking about us (people, in general); and so, I thought I would make a topic asking people two simple enough questions and see where we go from there:

¿What do you think science will never accomplish, and why?
(It's actually easier, I've found out, to ask people what can't be done than the other way around.)




Now, I have to be very clear, that this is in no way an attempt to start a "science vs whatever" argument and whatnot, but rather a simple curiosity of mine to know what people think, how far ahead they do it, and to what purpose. Also, to see what kind of concepts are used to give credence to certain ideas or ideologies.

Also, to see how people come and offer a reason for why that particular thing is impossible, and a subsequent
response to why it actually could be.

For the record, my stance would have to be a resounding "I don't know," in what pertains to our affairs, but other
than that, I would go with science being unable to start breaking the laws of physics/nature left and right(now,
circumventing them seems like an entirety different gig left for another day).

Any thoughts?

 

[PurpleRain]

Science is everywhere. As long as we figure how to work stuff out, we should be able o accomplish anything... except how to clean out those nasty redwine stains from the carpet.

 

[the monopoly guy]

this sort of thread could only happen on the Escapist. God bless.

Anyway, traveling at light speed. The special theory of relativity states that when you reach light speed, you then have infinite mass, and with unlimited mass comes unlimited momentum. But, with unlimited mass also comes unlimited density, so you can go right through anything. So, how the hell do you slow down? But, if that is true, then light would just blow us to hell.
Oh, bugger, I've gotten lost in my train of thought.
Am I just remembering the theory of special relativity wrong?

 

[fulano]

this sort of thread could only happen on the Escapist. God bless.

Anyway, traveling at light speed. The special theory of relativity states that when you reach light speed, you then have infinite mass, and with unlimited mass comes unlimited momentum. But, with unlimited mass also comes unlimited density, so you can go right through anything. So, how the hell do you slow down? But, if that is true, then light would just blow us to hell.
Oh, bugger, I've gotten lost in my train of thought.
Am I just remembering the theory of special relativity wrong?

Yep. But light is made of jillions of photons that happen to have mass=0, so that's why we're not blown to hell by them, you could say.

That's what I meant by not being able to start breaking the laws of physics/nature left and right, but there are always wormholes...I wish...really.

 

[mark_n_b]

Technological advancement occurs exponentially. Compare the 1780's to the 1880's to the 1920's to the 1960's to the 1980's to the year 2000. There are two assumptions that this pace will continue leading to the advancement changing our identity as a species (perhaps multiple times per generation) as stated above.

The other theory is that we will eventually reach a level of advancement that we cannot maintain, in which case we will begin becoming less technologically advanced as time goes on (this was a major theme in the Asimov Foundation trilogy) a variation of that theory is, as a natural survival mechanism we will, at a point, either blow ourselves up or fall to the new plague or something with the same backwards advancement result (Mad Max kind of dealio)

Me, I don't know either, could anyone in the 60's have predicted the internet? We are coming up on 2015, if Back To The Future II was right at all, I want my hover car conversion! (I could do without the $50.00 for a Pepsi though)

I do think space travel is potentially viable, but I also think there will be global reproduction and population management laws will be put into place before that ever happens.

Sci-Fi sounding I know.

 

[Saskwach]

I don't believe in this singularity any more than I believe in the theory of everything; some things are just beyond our grasp, and probably don't exist. I've never researched this singularity, but the one memorable image I know of it is a time line showing that the time between each new discovery was decreasing so rapidly that 'logically' the Singularity is only a few decades away. This seems a poor reading of the data: just because an arbitrarily defined set of discoveries are speeding up in some kind of exponential way doesn't mean they will forever- exponentials never do in real life.

 

[aussiesniper]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

 

[kanyatta]

I do not think we will ever invent time travel, because if we had, other people would have already come back from the future. Unless time travel only goes in to the future, or if we develop it around a few hundred years before the sun goes red giant and the year 2000 is like, a million years in the past.

I also do not think we will ever be able to tap the full 100% potential of the human mind all at once. This is formulated on my religion, so I know other people will have different opinions

 

[Church256]

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

We just arn't at a level to understand how yet.

Except make the perfect game that's impossible.

I do not think we will ever invent time travel, because if we had, other people would have already come back from the future. Unless time travel only goes in to the future, or if we develop it around a few hundred years before the sun goes red giant and the year 2000 is like, a million years in the past.

How do you know they havn't?
How do you know there arn't laws in thier time stopping them revealing themselves?
Maybe thier invisible, I know the technology is being researched right now. There could be a school history trip in your city right now learning how not to live thier lives.

 

[siege_1302]

I'm going to make a rough prediction and say science will never quite vanquish the demon of human stupidity. Although with a selective breeding programme, it could happen.

...

Ok, I just reread that and it sounds so scarily Huxlean...

Really, there's very little science couldn't accomplish. Things go in a few stages.
1) It's impossible!
2) Theoretically possible..
3) Achieved in the lab!
4) Everyday use.
Pretty much everything we do in our daily lives today would have been considered increasingly impossible the further back into history we go, so there's no way of telling what people further on into the future will be doing.

 

[aussiesniper]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

Why?

No living organism can live for an eternity, there are simply too many ways to die and (in humans) too many problems that occour with age.

To understand the human mind at a complete level, you would need several hundred years of continual research by a team of neuroscientists, psychologists and sociologists who all have Ph.D-level education. no-one would be willing to fund this, nor would that many people all be able to work as a team for an extended period of time.

The cold virus will mutate to be resistant to whatever drugs you use to kill it after a fairly short timespan.

programming a human mind would be far too complex for anyone to do, and far too stressful on a computer for it to be run.

an artificaial central nervous system would not be possible because of the incredible complexity of all of the fine workings of our nerves, and, again, no-one would fund this.

To teleport would require you to move faster than the speed of light.

 

[Perwer]

First I have to say that I am in no way classified for anything more then my own philosophies and what I say should be taken as such. In other words I don't wanna sound like I actually know something.

But to know what we can't accomplish we must truly understand how our world works, and we don't. Well yes we have theories and formulas and such. But humans will only be able to think outside the box so much. There are countless things the human mind simply can't comprehend. And many of the things we believe ourselves to know are in fact just a way for us to understand it to the best of our human, inferior abilities.
It's like trying to teach a cat maths; They're just not made for it.
Now, I'm going to wait for someone smart to correct me

 

[shufflemonkey16]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

I'd say the only parts of that list that are technologically impossible are making a computer that recreates a human mind and teleportation.

 

[Perwer]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

I'd say the only parts of that list that are technologically impossible are making a computer that recreates a human mind and teleportation.

Why not a "human-mind-computer" ? I mean we have to think way ahead. It probably won't but I don't see why that would be scientifically impossible.

 

[runtheplacered]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

Of course, you're basing this off of what you "know" at this very moment in time. I'm sure your list would be very different 50 years from now. After all, at one point in time, people like you said there's no way you could sail past the horizon and still live.

 

[Erana]

Science is not scientific.
I found this out when I learned that "breaking the cell wall" to extract DNA was done using a blender.

 

[fulano]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

Why?

No living organism can live for an eternity, there are simply too many ways to die and (in humans) too many problems that occour with age.

To understand the human mind at a complete level, you would need several hundred years of continual research by a team of neuroscientists, psychologists and sociologists who all have Ph.D-level education. no-one would be willing to fund this, nor would that many people all be able to work as a team for an extended period of time.

The cold virus will mutate to be resistant to whatever drugs you use to kill it after a fairly short timespan.

programming a human mind would be far too complex for anyone to do, and far too stressful on a computer for it to be run.

an artificaial central nervous system would not be possible because of the incredible complexity of all of the fine workings of our nerves, and, again, no-one would fund this.

To teleport would require you to move faster than the speed of light.

Okay, how can we know if we can't live "forever" if we are not openly re-adjusting ourselves? I mean as in openly trying implants or gene therapy to remove stuff.

About understanding the human mind, I don't think we really need to, since at some point in our history we will be able to map the functioning of the human brain(we have already found which areas of the brain process fear, lust, lots that process music, instinct, etc).

We may not end up knowing how the "mind" works(who can REALLY say what the mind is, anyway?), but we will be able to develop a circuit or a software that emulates the human brai, that has emotions, and such, depending on what model we are emulating, that a person won't be able to distinguish from another. And in turn "it"(the emulation) would see itself as one.


The cold virus? Well, you have a point there, but suppose we are able to build nano-machines(we're working with nano materials right now) that could be programmable, or at least shared some kind of hive-mind(yes, people, that's an actual term not uniquely reserved for the zerg) they could in theory hunt down a virus and kill it.

As for programming a human mind...

In, say, 20 years, we will have enough memory at least to store massive amounts of data, I think. Basing my thoughts on de rapid growth of information storage capabilities of machines; even if we outgrow the microchip usage, there's the optical computers coming & the so-called quantum cimputers. There's still room for more.

Now, suppose the brain's been completely mapped(which WILL happen, we are underway )coupled with the well known tendency of humans to just give a shot at anything at least once, you bet whoever ass you feel like betting, that somehow, somewhere, LOTS of people will literally jump at the chance of programming a human mind just to see "what's up". After all, mankind has the ill-gained achievement of having created an object that once detonated is hotter than the surface of the sun.

An artificial nervous system would be impossible under present circumstances, but let's not forget, there are already workings been done to emulate muscle fibers and the like. We may one day have artificial limbs and stuff.

I'm right there with you on teleporting.

 

[phanormethtrodex]

But to know what we can't accomplish we must truly understand how our world works, and we don't. Well yes we have theories and formulas and such. But humans will only be able to think outside the box so much. There are countless things the human mind simply can't comprehend.

I've read that the human mind actually has many sort of 'filters' that don't allow us to see certain things about the world, almost forming our perception of the universe. The theory is that psychedelic drugs, such as mushrooms, LSD, or mescaline, can sort of remove or disable these filters for a while, which is part of what causes the hallucinations. Check out Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception. Sorry, lotsa randomness, but just going along with your theory of the mind not being able to escape outside its box.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I think that science cannot perform the following:

• 
  [li]let humans live forever[/li]
  [li]gain a full knowledge of how the human mind works[/li]
  [li]get a cure for the cold virus (it mutates so often that each time you get a cold, it's most likely a diferent strain)[/li]
  [li]build a computer that can perfectly simulate the human mind[/li]
  [li]build an artificial central nervous system[/li]
  [li]teleportation in general[/li]

If we get teleportation we will instantaneously also have Forwards-time-travel. (Like when you teleport out of Nova Prospekt in Half-Life 2).
Regardless of teleportation or not, backwards time travel is not possible. It goes against everything I have ever learned of and no, no science can say otherwise.

 

[Frosk]

"I have a time machine, but it only goes forward at normal speed." - Mitch Hedberg

As for something we won't do...

Time travel

Teleportation - physical impossibility