Original Post
Flagrant Meme
Physicists Find Evidence That The Universe Is A 'Giant Brain'
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The idea of the universe as a 'giant brain' has been proposed by scientists - and science fiction writers - for decades.
But now physicists say there may be some evidence that it's actually true. In a sense.
According to a study published in Nature's Scientific Reports, the universe may be growing in the same way as a giant brain - with the electrical firing between brain cells 'mirrored' by the shape of expanding galaxies.
The results of a computer simulation suggest that "natural growth dynamics" - the way that systems evolve - are the same for different kinds of networks - whether its the internet, the human brain or the universe as a whole.
A co-author of the study, Dmitri Krioukov from the University of California San Diego, said that while such systems appear very different, they have evolved in very similar ways.
The result, they argue, is that the universe really does grow like a brain.
The study raises profound questions about how the universe works, Krioukov said.
"For a physicist it's an immediate signal that there is some missing understanding of how nature works," he told Space.com.
The team's simulation modelled the very early life of the universe, shortly after the big bang, by looking at how quantum units of space-time smaller than subatomic particles 'networked' with each other as the universe grew.
They found that the simulation mirrored that of other networks. Some links between similar nodes resulted in limited growth, while others acted as junctions for many different connections.
For instance, some connections are limited and similar - like a person who likes sports visiting many other sports websites - and some are major and connect to many other parts of the network, like Google and Yahoo.
No, it doesn't quite mean that the universe is 'thinking' - but as has been previously pointed out online, it might just mean there's more similarity between the very small and the very large than first appearances suggest.
Discuss.
The idea of the universe as a 'giant brain' has been proposed by scientists - and science fiction writers - for decades.
But now physicists say there may be some evidence that it's actually true. In a sense.
According to a study published in Nature's Scientific Reports, the universe may be growing in the same way as a giant brain - with the electrical firing between brain cells 'mirrored' by the shape of expanding galaxies.
The results of a computer simulation suggest that "natural growth dynamics" - the way that systems evolve - are the same for different kinds of networks - whether its the internet, the human brain or the universe as a whole.
A co-author of the study, Dmitri Krioukov from the University of California San Diego, said that while such systems appear very different, they have evolved in very similar ways.
The result, they argue, is that the universe really does grow like a brain.
The study raises profound questions about how the universe works, Krioukov said.
"For a physicist it's an immediate signal that there is some missing understanding of how nature works," he told Space.com.
The team's simulation modelled the very early life of the universe, shortly after the big bang, by looking at how quantum units of space-time smaller than subatomic particles 'networked' with each other as the universe grew.
They found that the simulation mirrored that of other networks. Some links between similar nodes resulted in limited growth, while others acted as junctions for many different connections.
For instance, some connections are limited and similar - like a person who likes sports visiting many other sports websites - and some are major and connect to many other parts of the network, like Google and Yahoo.
No, it doesn't quite mean that the universe is 'thinking' - but as has been previously pointed out online, it might just mean there's more similarity between the very small and the very large than first appearances suggest.
Discuss.
M I N I V A N
> Physicists Find Evidence That The Universe Is A 'Giant Brain'
> physicists say there may be some evidence that it's actually true
> In a sense.
> the universe may be growing in the same way as a giant brain
> with the electrical firing between brain cells 'mirrored' by the shape of expanding galaxies
> The result, they argue, is that the universe really does grow like a brain.
> No, it doesn't quite mean that the universe is 'thinking'
Sensationalist journalism. The title is COMPLETELY inaccurate.
The title should be;
> Physicists Think There May Be Evidence That The Universe Grows In A Similar Manor Organic Networks
They haven't found evidence, they haven't said that the evidence they do have suggests it, they don't suggest that the universe is a giant brain at all, in ANY sense.
So apart from that...
Since when did we think micro and macro interactions weren't similar?
There's nothing new in this study, apart from some disgusting sensationalist journalism.
> physicists say there may be some evidence that it's actually true
> In a sense.
> the universe may be growing in the same way as a giant brain
> with the electrical firing between brain cells 'mirrored' by the shape of expanding galaxies
> The result, they argue, is that the universe really does grow like a brain.
> No, it doesn't quite mean that the universe is 'thinking'
Sensationalist journalism. The title is COMPLETELY inaccurate.
The title should be;
> Physicists Think There May Be Evidence That The Universe Grows In A Similar Manor Organic Networks
They haven't found evidence, they haven't said that the evidence they do have suggests it, they don't suggest that the universe is a giant brain at all, in ANY sense.
So apart from that...
Since when did we think micro and macro interactions weren't similar?
There's nothing new in this study, apart from some disgusting sensationalist journalism.
Originally Posted by Hours
The results of a computer simulation suggest that "natural growth dynamics" - the way that systems evolve - are the same for different kinds of networks - whether its the internet, the human brain or the universe as a whole.
They're basically stating because A=B, A=B. A network may be defined as "a system of interrelated buildings, offices, stations, etc., especially over a large area or throughout a country, territory, region, etc" (Dictionary.com). Networks aren't sentient beings; they experience growth based on the lifeforms composing them. Human beings compose and dictate the actions of almost every network, and have the most major impact on networks that multiple entities influence (e.g. animals). Therefore it makes logical sense that any network that humans act upon, the internet, the brain, the universe all included, will expand in a similar way to any other network humans act upon.
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