> For complex objects such as computers to exist in our universe, many other objects had to form first, such as stars, heavy elements, life, tools, technology and the abstraction of computing. All this takes time and is path-dependent due to the casual contingency of each innovation that is made.
At face value, I think I agree -- especially the format of the website being in a sort of hand-designed style.
"Assembly Theory" is a sort of applying (kolmogorov-esque) complexity theory to physics and other natural sciences. I don't know much else beyond that it's a "real thing".
So with that extra background, I give it a pass. I think it's an interesting idea at least.
Theory previously discussed on HN, eg:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35827189
(A New Theory for the Assembly of Life in the Universe; 135 points, 69 comments)
> For complex objects such as computers to exist in our universe, many other objects had to form first, such as stars, heavy elements, life, tools, technology and the abstraction of computing. All this takes time and is path-dependent due to the casual contingency of each innovation that is made.
So... a universal tech tree?
One of the most difficult aspects of doing research involving causality is consistently avoiding the "casual" misspelling.
For those who find the color of the text unbearable:
let elements = document.querySelectorAll('span');
for (el of elements) { el.style.color = 'black'; }
Even better: el.style.color = 'black'; el.style.fontWeight = 'lighter'
It's much more readable now.
i have heard Cronin on podcast … imo he has serious theories but makes some elliptic claims wrt the nature of time
best recent listen for me was Sean Carroll Mindscape on the emergence of time
i guess that the truth is some combination of both
> best recent listen for me was Sean Carroll Mindscape on the emergence of time
Interesting tip, thx for passing along.
So, time is not a cube?
Slightly more seriously though, It's hard for me to tell if this is a serious theory, or timecube level stuff?
At face value, I think I agree -- especially the format of the website being in a sort of hand-designed style.
"Assembly Theory" is a sort of applying (kolmogorov-esque) complexity theory to physics and other natural sciences. I don't know much else beyond that it's a "real thing".
So with that extra background, I give it a pass. I think it's an interesting idea at least.
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