Science gives you theories. Really boring ones. Philosophy tells you stories. Even more boring. But when they get together, it gets really interesting. Or scary.
Read along at your own risk because each theory you read will increase your heart beat. You might end up thinking about these theories the whole night. Take care.
1. Roko’s Basilik
Warning: Reading this may commit you to an eternity of suffering and torment.
Roko's Basilik is an evil AI that could retroactively punish those who did not help bring about its existence. You may die due to all the torture, but death is not the end. Because it can resurrect you to torture again.
To save yourself from his fury, you have to devote your life to bring about his existence.
This thought experiment first came out on the website LessWrong, which gave many of its users nightmares. The founder of LessWrong, Eliezer Yudkowsky, had to finally delete the thread to seize the horror.
Roko's Basilik offers you two boxes and you can choose either of them.
So, if you do nothing and Roko's Basilik comes into existence, you might end up suffering.
But if the all-powerful AI sees that this type of blackmailing can get you help for making its existence, then it will always be blackmailing you.
Now you have a choice. Since you have now read about it, the Roko's Basilik will keep a watch on you! But don't get blackmailed, even though you risk yourself a hell lot of suffering.
2. Higher Dimensional beings
Hey! Yes, you!
Do not look back. They are watching you! They are breathing over your neck.
Didn't see them? You can't. Because they are beings from higher dimensions.
Ever felt as if someone's under your bed at night?
You're not wrong. They watch you change clothes, sleep and read this. And you can't do anything to stop them.
The theory of Higher dimensional beings says that there are creatures from higher dimensions, different from us humans who live in a three-dimensional world.
Taking an example, if you draw Mr Mike on a paper, then his life is in this two-dimensional world. Mr Mike can talk to Mrs Mike but they will never know about you.
Similarly, higher dimensional beings might be watching us from a different dimension which we can't perceive.
3. Last Thursdayism
According to this theory, the Universe was created last Thursday and was made to look as if it is billions of years old. Literally, everything in this universe, your bed, phone, this list, were all created last Thursday and all your memories before last Thursday were fed to your brain.
The debate whether Last Thursdayism is true continues since its inception Last Thursday.
If someone (maybe God) placed memories of the past in your brain, then it would appear to you that you remember that thing happening. Since Last Thursdayism can explain anything, it seems like an unfalsifiable hypothesis.
However, this theory makes a lot of assumptions which make it unnecessarily complex. Occam’s Razor, another theory, says that one should not make assumptions more than the necessary minimum.
But Last Thursdayism is scary. Your parents aren’t yours, they are made to look as such. And the girl you proposed last month; no dear! You never did. Wait! Whose child are you playing with?
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4. Brain in a vat
So now you have read all those scary theories given above. Are you sure? Or is your brain made to think like that?
You must be knowing that our brain is the centre of all consciousness and it functions on electrical impulses. The outer world ‘simulates’ or influences the brain to react, resulting in actions which are again sent in the form of electrical impulses.
Are you sure you know that? Or are you made to think like that? Are you sure you are not hallucinating?
Because your brain could actually be in a vat of a liquid containing all essential nutrients to keep it alive. The nerves could be connected to a supercomputer which would provide electrical impulses to your brain.
So maybe you are just dreaming that this is a theory.
Can you disprove it?
No.
Because one can never know whether his brain is in a skull or a vat. And this is the scariest part.
5. False Vacuum
Before you start reading the theory, let me acquaint you with Quantum field and energy levels.
Quantum fields and their interaction is this world. And according to physics, every field in nature has some energy level and everything tries to be at the lowest possible energy level. For fields, this state is called ‘vacuum state.’
So, everything tends to zero state and hence is stable, right?
Maybe not. Because a field, called Higgs field tends to a non-zero value. This field is responsible for giving everything their mass.
So, what if Higgs field exists in a false vacuum? What if it could reach a lower energy level but there is a barrier in the way?
What will happen if it gets some amount of energy and reaches true vacuum? Just as everything else in physics- it would release an enormous amount of energy.
And, since this field is responsible for giving mass to objects, the new vacuum state would create totally different particle – a completely different reality from what we see now. We would not be able to exist in that world.
Wait! Energy! That enormous energy would be enough to kill us, and the entire universe. What if this has happened somewhere already, and is reaching us at the speed of light?
6. Misotheism
Read this at your own risk because I am going to tell you a TRUTH that will shake each bone of your BODY!
Imagine, the most morally good person you know of like kalam or Gandhi. What do you think their afterlife would have been like? Enjoying in heaven! And think of afterlife of Hitler, burning in hell? But wait, do you have a proof? What if it is just the opposite?
You have a friend who spent all his life doing good. Helping others, empathizing with the pain of others and feeding the poor. You bless him that God will always help him. But, what if God is malevolent? What if he punishes the people who do good and reward those whom the world hates?
Ever felt that doing good never did well for you? Or that good people always suffer?
Maybe the reason is that God is malevolent. Maybe he doesn't want his children to be happy. That's why he sent Adam and Eve to Earth. To suffer.
God just wants to destroy our freedom and treat us like his slaves and make us subservient! He loathes us and want us to suffer and even rewards those who make humankind suffer!
So now are you going to worship him or return the favour by loathing him?
So now are you going to worship him or return the favour by loathing him?
7. Fermi paradox
Are we alone in the universe?
Right now, we have no direct evidence of any other civilization or contact with an extraterrestrial race.Should we keep looking? How big is the chance of finding "someone else"? Is there someone? And if so, why don't we see anyone?
There are around 100 billion stars in our Galaxy. And an equal number of galaxies in the observable universe. That counts to 10^22 total stars. Even if we say that there are only 1% Sun-like star, then this comes to 10^20. The number of Earth-like planets can also be taken to be 1% of that. This comes to 10^18.
This means that there are 180 Earth-like planets for every grain of sand on Earth.
Now imagine that 1% of those planets develop life and 0.1% of them develop intelligent life. Even then the number goes to 10^15 intelligent species.
If you follow this line of thinking, you may find yourself wondering:
Where is everyone?
And that's my friend is Fermi paradox!!
8. Great Filter Theory
DON'T PLAN SOMETHING FOR NEXT YEAR!!!
CHANCES are that YOU WON'T SEE NEXT YEAR
Because there is something that is going to happen to all of us and it has the power to destroy our world and kill anyone
There is a theory of great filter that states that there is some step in the process from 'bare lifeless planet' to 'galaxy faring civilizations' that is very hard.
According to Robin Huson, there are nine steps in the evolution of life on earth in which there is a step which is impossible to pass. It is an explanation of why can't we detect evidence of other intelligent civilization.The great filter posits that every civilization that attains a certain level of development destroys itself.
According to Robin Huson, there are nine steps in the evolution of life on earth in which there is a step which is impossible to pass. It is an explanation of why can't we detect evidence of other intelligent civilization.The great filter posits that every civilization that attains a certain level of development destroys itself.
What is scary about it is we are clueless about the fact that the great filter is ahead of us or we have successfully passed it? If the step is ahead of us we should be extremely careful with certain kind of experimentation that we do not fully understand. It is like living in the fear that maybe this moment or day or year is the last one that we may experience!
9. Coronal Mass Ejection
What if there is sudden lack of technology for a week or possibly for a decade?
Sounds scary, isn't it?
Why would such event happen?
The theory of earth being attacked by coronal mass ejection which is the expulsion of a large amount of plasma with its own magnetic field from corona, outer atmosphere of the sun, blown into space in a random direction.This is associated with enormous changes and disturbance in the coronal magnetic field.The plasma from a CME moves across vast distance of interplanetary space and propagates like an expanding magnetic cloud.By the time a cloud of plasma reaches earth, it is often millions of miles across and moving around 1500 km/hr.
A direct CME hit has the potential to disrupt radio transmission, cause damage to satellites and electrical transmission line facilities
All transportation, medical, ATM, military, national security water pump and everything essential will come to standstill and we can just sit and see the complete disruption of lives!
10. Quantum Immortality
Quantum immortality is an idea in which it is put forward that the conscious stays alive even though the conscious being dies in one universe.
It is related to the concept of quantum suicide.
Consider Schrodinger's cat.
The standard interpretation is that the cat exists in the superposition of being both dead and alive and once you open the box the state of superposition collapse into either of the two states.
However, the many world interpretation is that both outcomes are played in different universe it means that in one universe cat dies and in another it lives.
Quantum immortality says that you are immortal but not in the same universe.
Sounds great right?
But wait, It does not tell you in which circumstance you will survive!
Maybe you will be blind for 8 gazillion years or you will be confined to a wheel chair for eternity.You will realize over and over again that your line of events matter to you and you alone and that your loved ones probably don't even know you in other universe but you will see them having horrible deaths in that universe and can do nothing about it.
It is related to the concept of quantum suicide.
Consider Schrodinger's cat.
The standard interpretation is that the cat exists in the superposition of being both dead and alive and once you open the box the state of superposition collapse into either of the two states.
However, the many world interpretation is that both outcomes are played in different universe it means that in one universe cat dies and in another it lives.
Quantum immortality says that you are immortal but not in the same universe.
Sounds great right?
But wait, It does not tell you in which circumstance you will survive!
Maybe you will be blind for 8 gazillion years or you will be confined to a wheel chair for eternity.You will realize over and over again that your line of events matter to you and you alone and that your loved ones probably don't even know you in other universe but you will see them having horrible deaths in that universe and can do nothing about it.
I hope that you are still there. If you got a chill down your spine, make sure to share it with your friends and react.
Comment down your emotions, which is the scariest theory according to you?.
Comment down your emotions, which is the scariest theory according to you?.
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Wow! That was scary. I really loved Roko's basilik. Do you think it can be real?
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