Stephen Hawking: Humans Might Destroy Universe

[Eleanor Ritas]

So apparently, if the Higgs potential is metastable and humanity builds a large enough accelerator (around 100 bn GEV or so, which would take a device bigger than the planet that could not be constructed under the "current economic climate", but something we roughly know how to build and the resources in the solar system exist) then we could accidentally create a vacuum decay that would expand at the speed of light and destroy the universe as we know it.

Now, it would take something like 10,000,000 years just for our galaxy to be destroyed from the vacuum bubble, but there maybe intelligences out there that operate on those time scales.

What if they become aware that we are potentially within a century or so of maybe initiating the destruction the universe? Would they monitor us? Listen to our intra-species dialogue?

Something like 70% of internet traffic is spam and porn. The other 30% is people calling Obama a "Muslim atheist".

What are the advanced aliens going to think of us when they read that shit and see the power we're approaching? What if they watch an episode of Jerry Springer? What if they see that the arguably most powerful individual on the planet is widely hated among many because he tried to get healthcare to be people who needed it, and is viewed by millions as the embodiment of evil?

What if they read "The Fountainhead" and decide to just nova our sun?

I think there must be nobody listening within time and range, that the answer to the Fermi Paradox is just that nobody else is close enough to see what we're doing, and what we might be one day able to do.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/50 ... y-universe

What do you think?

[Galloism]

I think rather than wipe out an entire species on the off chance we could destroy the universe, they would park a listening post on one of Jupiter's moons, and intervene oy if the threat of it appears reasonably imminent.

Galactic credits don't grow on trees, you know.

[Finland SSR]

We can have the accelerator as a universal trigger.

If someone threatens us or blows up the Sun, we pull the trigger.

BAM! Nobody wins.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

But that's where I keep all my stuff.

[Eleanor Ritas]

I think rather than wipe out an entire species on the off chance we could destroy the universe, they would park a listening post on one of Jupiter's moons, and intervene oy if the threat of it appears reasonably imminent.

Galactic credits don't grow on trees, you know.

Yeah, maybe they spit like millions of little probe droids or whatever that park it near species nearing dangerous tech and when it looks like a problem, they send something back "talking monkeys found Higgs Boson, send somebody to have a talk with them".

My worry is, when they see the rest of the shit we do, we better hope they consider it so terribly wrongful to "wipe out an entire species", rather than cleaning a rock of nuisance growths.

That would be awesome, though. A gas-giant sized ship folds space into our system and they transmit "We weren't going to say anything but that accelerator you're building could destroy the universe. Also, if the Disney Star Wars films aren't better, we're going to glass your planet and use it for records storage."

[Tyrinth]

I think you talk too much about your unrelated political beliefs where it's not necessary thereby setting yourself up for the potential derailment of your own thread.

Aside from that, I think it's an interesting thing to think about. I really don't think that we have anything to worry about, though.

[Greed and Death]

I am all for destroying the universe. Sounds fun.

[Eleanor Ritas]

We can have the accelerator as a universal trigger.

If someone threatens us or blows up the Sun, we pull the trigger.

BAM! Nobody wins.

I think it might worry them how quickly we resort to deterrent of mutual destruction.

Maybe that's why they haven't invited us up already. They can see we point weapons at our planet that could destroy all life on the planet. It's like walking past a crazy guy on a street with a gun to his head, muttering in dozens of different voices to himself.

[Finland SSR]

I think rather than wipe out an entire species on the off chance we could destroy the universe, they would park a listening post on one of Jupiter's moons, and intervene oy if the threat of it appears reasonably imminent.

Galactic credits don't grow on trees, you know.

Yeah, maybe they spit like millions of little probe droids or whatever that park it near species nearing dangerous tech and when it looks like a problem, they send something back "talking monkeys found Higgs Boson, send somebody to have a talk with them".

My worry is, when they see the rest of the shit we do, we better hope they consider it so terribly wrongful to "wipe out an entire species", rather than cleaning a rock of nuisance growths.

That would be awesome, though. A gas-giant sized ship folds space into our system and they transmit "We weren't going to say anything but that accelerator you're building could destroy the universe. Also, if the Disney Star Wars films aren't better, we're going to glass your planet and use it for records storage."

Or maybe they visited us in the past, though "Well, this is a primitive neighbourhood" and left, never planning to even look back.

[Finland SSR]

We can have the accelerator as a universal trigger.

If someone threatens us or blows up the Sun, we pull the trigger.

BAM! Nobody wins.

I think it might worry them how quickly we resort to deterrent of mutual destruction.

Maybe that's why they haven't invited us up already. They can see we point weapons at our planet that could destroy all life on the planet. It's like walking past a crazy guy on a street with a gun to his head, muttering in dozens of different voices to himself.

But that would be a universal death.
They should be terrified.

[Senkaku]

So apparently, if the Higgs potential is metastable and humanity builds a large enough accelerator (around 100 bn GEV or so, which would take a device bigger than the planet that could not be constructed under the "current economic climate", but something we roughly know how to build and the resources in the solar system exist) then we could accidentally create a vacuum decay that would expand at the speed of light and destroy the universe as we know it.

Now, it would take something like 10,000,000 years just for our galaxy to be destroyed from the vacuum bubble, but there maybe intelligences out there that operate on those time scales.

What if they become aware that we are potentially within a century or so of maybe initiating the destruction the universe? Would they monitor us? Listen to our intra-species dialogue?

Something like 70% of internet traffic is spam and porn. The other 30% is people calling Obama a "Muslim atheist".

What are the advanced aliens going to think of us when they read that shit and see the power we're approaching? What if they watch an episode of Jerry Springer? What if they see that the arguably most powerful individual on the planet is widely hated among many because he tried to get healthcare to be people who needed it, and is viewed by millions as the embodiment of evil?

What if they read "The Fountainhead" and decide to just nova our sun?

I think there must be nobody listening within time and range, that the answer to the Fermi Paradox is just that nobody else is close enough to see what we're doing, and what we might be one day able to do.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/50 ... y-universe

What do you think?

Well, if these advanced civilizations are out there, then clearly the risk of advanced civilizations destroying the universe isn't that large.

[Finland SSR]

Plot twist: Aliens already built a 100 bn GeV accelerator and doomed our universe.

[Lazssia]

We can have the accelerator as a universal trigger.

If someone threatens us or blows up the Sun, we pull the trigger.

BAM! Nobody wins.

I think it might worry them how quickly we resort to deterrent of mutual destruction.

Maybe that's why they haven't invited us up already. They can see we point weapons at our planet that could destroy all life on the planet. It's like walking past a crazy guy on a street with a gun to his head, muttering in dozens of different voices to himself.

So humanity is the crazy hobo of the cosmos? I can dig it.

[Condunum]

Yeah, maybe they spit like millions of little probe droids or whatever that park it near species nearing dangerous tech and when it looks like a problem, they send something back "talking monkeys found Higgs Boson, send somebody to have a talk with them".

My worry is, when they see the rest of the shit we do, we better hope they consider it so terribly wrongful to "wipe out an entire species", rather than cleaning a rock of nuisance growths.

That would be awesome, though. A gas-giant sized ship folds space into our system and they transmit "We weren't going to say anything but that accelerator you're building could destroy the universe. Also, if the Disney Star Wars films aren't better, we're going to glass your planet and use it for records storage."

Or maybe they visited us in the past, though "Well, this is a primitive neighbourhood" and left, never planning to even look back.

If they're anything like I am in every space colonization game ever, they'd have marked the planet for future cleansing and colonization.

Because it's just a Tier 0 civilization. Nothing to worry about destroying.

[Eleanor Ritas]

I think you talk too much about your unrelated political beliefs where it's not necessary thereby setting yourself up for the potential derailment of your own thread.

Aside from that, I think it's an interesting thing to think about. I really don't think that we have anything to worry about, though.

Wait, so you took the time to respond to the tangential political comments, then said the topic was interesting, then responded to it less substantively than you did to the the aspect you consider unnecessary. Ah, NSG...

Well, why do you think we shouldn't worry?

I suppose we've been safe up till now with more locally dangerous technology, like nukes. Do you think our rational self preservation will most likely prevent our accidentally vacuum bubbling the universe?

I think by the time we can build a 100 bn GeV device, we (or some of us) will exist in cognitive contexts that won't really be comparable to how we think now, so it will be some genetically engineered cybernetically-enhanced telepathic conclave that decides it and we'll be fine or it will be worse in ways my puny brain can't imagine.

[Euletia]

I think aliens existing at all (much less interstellar civilizations) is practically impossible; from a strictly atheistic view, the odds of life beginning are so miniscule that there's no way it would have happened a second time, certainly not in this galaxy (ironically enough, I'm religious, so I actually view aliens as a bit more possible than I would if I were atheist).

I also have to wonder - IF advanced, spacefaring aliens did exist, wouldn't they have built this thing a long time ago if it were possible? There's this weird sci-fi trope that humans are always uniquely stupid for some reason, but there is exactly zero reason to think that aliens would be any different - especially considering that Hawking has also said that any sentient aliens would likely be, like us, apex predators.

Also, alien-talk aside, wasn't there a huge to-do about how the Large Hadron Collider was going to create a black hole or some such nonsense? I'm not that concerned about Theoretical Quantum Space Magic Doomsday Spells at this point, though it does seem like a massively useless money-dump. What's the benefit supposed to be?

[Greed and Death]

Plot twist: Aliens already built a 100 bn GeV accelerator and doomed our universe.

A vacuum bubble is heading towards us at the speed of light as we speak.

[Eleanor Ritas]

So apparently, if the Higgs potential is metastable and humanity builds a large enough accelerator (around 100 bn GEV or so, which would take a device bigger than the planet that could not be constructed under the "current economic climate", but something we roughly know how to build and the resources in the solar system exist) then we could accidentally create a vacuum decay that would expand at the speed of light and destroy the universe as we know it.

Now, it would take something like 10,000,000 years just for our galaxy to be destroyed from the vacuum bubble, but there maybe intelligences out there that operate on those time scales.

What if they become aware that we are potentially within a century or so of maybe initiating the destruction the universe? Would they monitor us? Listen to our intra-species dialogue?

Something like 70% of internet traffic is spam and porn. The other 30% is people calling Obama a "Muslim atheist".

What are the advanced aliens going to think of us when they read that shit and see the power we're approaching? What if they watch an episode of Jerry Springer? What if they see that the arguably most powerful individual on the planet is widely hated among many because he tried to get healthcare to be people who needed it, and is viewed by millions as the embodiment of evil?

What if they read "The Fountainhead" and decide to just nova our sun?

I think there must be nobody listening within time and range, that the answer to the Fermi Paradox is just that nobody else is close enough to see what we're doing, and what we might be one day able to do.

Source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/50 ... y-universe

What do you think?

Well, if these advanced civilizations are out there, then clearly the risk of advanced civilizations destroying the universe isn't that large.

Ooh, that's a good point. If they haven't done it yet, maybe we probably won't. Unless there are already a bunch of expanding vaccuum bubbles blossoming through the universe and we're all fucked.

Or maybe the Higgs potential isn't metastable.

Or maybe Jesus will come and bring weed and snacks and we'll just talk this whole thing out.

[Imperializt Russia]

Has anyone stopped to consider what the point of a 100 billion GeV (some billion times more powerful than CERN, I believe) accelerator would actually be? Why if at all we may ever build it?

[Galloism]

Has anyone stopped to consider what the point of a 100 billion GeV (some billion times more powerful than CERN, I believe) accelerator would actually be? Why if at all we may ever build it?

MAD.

[Greed and Death]

Has anyone stopped to consider what the point of a 100 billion GeV (some billion times more powerful than CERN, I believe) accelerator would actually be? Why if at all we may ever build it?

MAD.

Listen here aliens we will destroy the universe if you mess with us.

[Eleanor Ritas]

I think aliens existing at all (much less interstellar civilizations) is practically impossible; from a strictly atheistic view, the odds of life beginning are so miniscule that there's no way it would have happened a second time, certainly not in this galaxy (ironically enough, I'm religious, so I actually view aliens as a bit more possible than I would if I were atheist).

I also have to wonder - IF advanced, spacefaring aliens did exist, wouldn't they have built this thing a long time ago if it were possible? There's this weird sci-fi trope that humans are always uniquely stupid for some reason, but there is exactly zero reason to think that aliens would be any different - especially considering that Hawking has also said that any sentient aliens would likely be, like us, apex predators.

Also, alien-talk aside, wasn't there a huge to-do about how the Large Hadron Collider was going to create a black hole or some such nonsense? I'm not that concerned about Theoretical Quantum Space Magic Doomsday Spells at this point, though it does seem like a massively useless money-dump. What's the benefit supposed to be?

The accelerators allow us to learn about the fundamental property of physics and our universe, although if Hawkins is right, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Other people have already aptly pointed out that other species elsewhere may have made the same oopsie and the bubbles could already be forming and on their way.

That would be an interesting progression for reality. "Matter and energy forms, some of it becomes self aware, destroy itself, repeat". It's like my first two marriages.

[Finland SSR]

Has anyone stopped to consider what the point of a 100 billion GeV (some billion times more powerful than CERN, I believe) accelerator would actually be? Why if at all we may ever build it?

We humans make some crazy shit sometimes.

[Senkaku]

Has anyone stopped to consider what the point of a 100 billion GeV (some billion times more powerful than CERN, I believe) accelerator would actually be? Why if at all we may ever build it?

MAD.

If every other hyperadvanced alien empire has them, we need a deterrent.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Perhaps I can create a secret extradimensional compartment to keep all my stuff in case the universe ends. Then after it's all over and the next universe begins, I just have to unpack and start over.

Hmm.... You know, one of the biggest mysteries of the Big Bang is why there was a discrepancy between particles and anti-particles in the early moments of the universe. It's called Baryogenesis. Maybe what happened is someone packed up all their baryons in a secret compartment before the end of the last universe and when our universe began, he intended to make a bit of land to put all his stuff on. But when he opened the compartment, all the baryons escaped and wreaked havok with the early symmetry of creation.

The Interdimensional Baryon Spill Incident of 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001.