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The concept of Boltzmann Brain — a self-aware entity that emerges from random fluctuations in the fabric of reality— is intriguing. Perhaps God emerges from the evolution of a cosmic society of Boltzmann Brains?

I am referring to a generic “fabric of reality” but the concept can be formulated more precisely. For example, imagine a conscious, thinking being arising from random quantum fluctuations in the vacuum.

In the delightful “The Gravity Mine” short story, Stephen Baxter imagines the birth of a Boltzmann Brain:

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Here’s another thing I have changed my mind on. Well, sort of. I used to make fun of “vitalism” and trade insults with my favorite archenemy Dale Carrico. Now I must repent or at least add important qualifications.

Vitalism is currently defined by Wikipedia as “the belief that living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things.”

If we eliminate a few words from this definition we are left with a statement that I don’t disagree with:

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Philosopher and science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon didn’t see the possibility of technological resurrection. Why? He had the building blocks for a physical theory of resurrection in mind, except one.

Stapledon was a deep, thoughtful and highly imaginative thinker, whose works are a source of endless inspiration for me. I consider “Star Maker” as a masterpiece of cosmic science fiction and theology.

In “Philosophy and Living,” Stapledon gives a cold shower (soberly and elegantly of course) to the idea of afterlife.

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The smooth space-time fabric of reality seems to break down at very small scales, and become a fractal with infinite depth. New physics, with intriguing implications for metaphysics and theology, could be hidden in those fractal depths.

Smooth (continuous and differentiable) curves and surfaces become locally flat if you zoom-in deep enough. But fractals are always rough at all scales, and you can zoom-in a fractal forever.

In his seminal book “The Fractal Geometry of Nature,” Benoît Mandelbrot mentioned “a new fractal wrinkle to the presentation of quantum mechanics.”

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South Korea’s giant leap into space started with a small step on the internet.

With treaties banning certain tech transfers, South Korea’s rocket scientists turned to a search service to find an engine they could mimic as the country embarked on an ambitious plan to build an indigenous space program. The nation launched its first home-grown rocket called Nuri in October 2021.

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Computer scientist Amit Sahai, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of zero-knowledge proofs to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. Using a variety of techniques, Amit breaks down what zero-knowledge proofs are and why it’s so exciting in the world of cryptography.

Amit Sahai, PhD, is a professor of computer science at UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.

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