I pride myself in asking questions about topics before anyone else does, and answering them by literature search and mathematical analysis.

We’ve already passed through periods of asking about the origin of life, the nature of the universe, the search for aliens, nuclear risks, pandemics, the climate, extinct species, equal rights, natural disasters.

I already know everything there is to know about those, or know where to look it up.

I’m currently at a loss to know what to ask next. What will people urgently want to know in six months that nobody is asking about now?

mollwollfumble said:

I pride myself in asking questions about topics before anyone else does, and answering them by literature search and mathematical analysis.

We’ve already passed through periods of asking about the origin of life, the nature of the universe, the search for aliens, nuclear risks, pandemics, the climate, extinct species, equal rights, natural disasters.

I already know everything there is to know about those, or know where to look it up.

I’m currently at a loss to know what to ask next. What will people urgently want to know in six months that nobody is asking about now?

It’s easy enough to say that the future will be like the past. To expect disasters and windfalls like those that have already occurred.

Shortly we can expect massive loss of life in a volcanic eruption (eg. Naples), earthquke (eg. California), crop plague, disease return (eg. rabies, TB, malaria)..

We of course expect new wars. But which ones?

I did not expect manamade disasters including Bhopal, Rwanda, Beruit.

I know enough to put a timeline on the decline and fall of the American Empire, and on the loss of the higher functions of the internet when Google fails.

Massive undersea lava flow eruptions could occur at any time. I sincerely hope I don’t live to see the filling of the African Rift Valley with lava. Or the creation of a new flood basalt domain in Bass Straight or near Robe in South Australia.

The new transport accidents hardly count. New mining accidents could be significnt, but only just.

Civil unrest is getting worse. Perhaps we’re heading for a totally new type of worldwide revolution.

Expect a world financial collapse at any time.

Windfalls are expected after the launch of the James Webb, and completion of the SKA. CERN seems to have just about reached its limit.

When will dark matter be explained? In six months? In 50 years? Never?

I’m sure I’ve missed something absolutely vital, but what?

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

I pride myself in asking questions about topics before anyone else does, and answering them by literature search and mathematical analysis.

We’ve already passed through periods of asking about the origin of life, the nature of the universe, the search for aliens, nuclear risks, pandemics, the climate, extinct species, equal rights, natural disasters.

I already know everything there is to know about those, or know where to look it up.

I’m currently at a loss to know what to ask next. What will people urgently want to know in six months that nobody is asking about now?

It’s easy enough to say that the future will be like the past. To expect disasters and windfalls like those that have already occurred.

Shortly we can expect massive loss of life in a volcanic eruption (eg. Naples), earthquke (eg. California), crop plague, disease return (eg. rabies, TB, malaria)..

We of course expect new wars. But which ones?

I did not expect manamade disasters including Bhopal, Rwanda, Beruit.

I know enough to put a timeline on the decline and fall of the American Empire, and on the loss of the higher functions of the internet when Google fails.

Massive undersea lava flow eruptions could occur at any time. I sincerely hope I don’t live to see the filling of the African Rift Valley with lava. Or the creation of a new flood basalt domain in Bass Straight or near Robe in South Australia.

The new transport accidents hardly count. New mining accidents could be significnt, but only just.

Civil unrest is getting worse. Perhaps we’re heading for a totally new type of worldwide revolution.

Expect a world financial collapse at any time.

Windfalls are expected after the launch of the James Webb, and completion of the SKA. CERN seems to have just about reached its limit.

When will dark matter be explained? In six months? In 50 years? Never?

I’m sure I’ve missed something absolutely vital, but what?

When will I get to see the scarlet-sided pobblebonk that comes into my yard and calls out for a mate?

“I pride myself in asking questions about topics before anyone else does,”
Well , in a thing called Semi Framed Balustrding and Pool Fencing ,, I came up with an answer before there was a Q,

> What will people urgently want to know in six months that nobody is asking about now?

Michael V said:

When will I get to see the scarlet-sided pobblebonk that comes into my yard and calls out for a mate?

I’ve quoted this passage from one of the “wildlife of Brisbane” books before. I love it.
“Beauty – is a chorus of scarlet-sided pobblebonks”

Some of the answers from facebook (a slightly different question, not limited to 6 months).

• A supernova in the Milky Way
• Finance for science
• Bespoke protein production
• Evidence-based system of reviewing all political policies
• Teaching critical thinking skills
• Advanced prosthetics
• How best to advance genetic engineering
• Hoverboard
• Quantum computing
• NexGuard for humans
• How to get out of the house
• Solving the problems of human waste

My two questions are (again ignoring the “next 6 months” bit):

Is there meta-time?
Is there meta-space?

The Rev Dodgson said:

My two questions are (again ignoring the “next 6 months” bit):

Is there meta-time?
Is there meta-space?

There’s meta-time and meta-space, if meta-good-enough.

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

Dark Orange said:

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

Politicians’ promises, mostly.

captain_spalding said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

My two questions are (again ignoring the “next 6 months” bit):

Is there meta-time?
Is there meta-space?

There’s meta-time and meta-space, if meta-good-enough.

I’m afraid I don’t understand the answer.

Dark Orange said:

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

I may be misinterpreting, but I suspect that answer is dismissive of a perfectly good question.

The Rev Dodgson said:

captain_spalding said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

My two questions are (again ignoring the “next 6 months” bit):

Is there meta-time?
Is there meta-space?

There’s meta-time and meta-space, if meta-good-enough.

I’m afraid I don’t understand the answer.

A play on a phrase that’s used by sports commentators about how the losing team in a game could turn things around: ‘there’s time enough and chances enough if they’re good enough’.

captain_spalding said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

captain_spalding said:

There’s meta-time and meta-space, if meta-good-enough.

I’m afraid I don’t understand the answer.

A play on a phrase that’s used by sports commentators about how the losing team in a game could turn things around: ‘there’s time enough and chances enough if they’re good enough’.

Ah, got it now, thanks.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Dark Orange said:

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

I may be misinterpreting, but I suspect that answer is dismissive of a perfectly good question.

It’s a good question, but beyond the capacities of many of us.

If we jest, it doesn’t automatically follow that we dismiss the question.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Dark Orange said:

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

I may be misinterpreting, but I suspect that answer is dismissive of a perfectly good question.

It is a good question, and the ancient concept of Aether is as good an answer as any.

I suppose another Pratchettesq answer would be “It’s Aether, all the way down”.

The recorded time of time itself, the notion that upholds that, for instance, in Physics, that if a Big bang is later proceeded by a Big Crunch, and upon repeating this cycle, that events in the initial resulting Universe of the first Big Bang, specific events will not be repeated in the second or the third and so on, where, in theory, according to normative time, events should reoccur.

urban dictionary

Bogsnorkler said:

The recorded time of time itself, the notion that upholds that, for instance, in Physics, that if a Big bang is later proceeded by a Big Crunch, and upon repeating this cycle, that events in the initial resulting Universe of the first Big Bang, specific events will not be repeated in the second or the third and so on, where, in theory, according to normative time, events should reoccur.

urban dictionary

OK, but not what I meant.

If you sat outside the universe, and observed part of its space-time in 4D, would you see something unchanging, or would different sections change over meta-time, as you observed them?

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bogsnorkler said:

The recorded time of time itself, the notion that upholds that, for instance, in Physics, that if a Big bang is later proceeded by a Big Crunch, and upon repeating this cycle, that events in the initial resulting Universe of the first Big Bang, specific events will not be repeated in the second or the third and so on, where, in theory, according to normative time, events should reoccur.

urban dictionary

OK, but not what I meant.

If you sat outside the universe, and observed part of its space-time in 4D, would you see something unchanging, or would different sections change over meta-time, as you observed them?

I have no idea what you mean by meta-time.

Michael V said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Bogsnorkler said:

The recorded time of time itself, the notion that upholds that, for instance, in Physics, that if a Big bang is later proceeded by a Big Crunch, and upon repeating this cycle, that events in the initial resulting Universe of the first Big Bang, specific events will not be repeated in the second or the third and so on, where, in theory, according to normative time, events should reoccur.

urban dictionary

OK, but not what I meant.

If you sat outside the universe, and observed part of its space-time in 4D, would you see something unchanging, or would different sections change over meta-time, as you observed them?

I have no idea what you mean by meta-time.

I mean a higher level time.

If you can view space-time from outside, and nothing changes at any given point, then the Universe has no meta-time, although there would have to be meta-time outside, to allow you to view different points of space-time.

OTOH, if a point in space-time does change, that would require a meta-time.

Dark Orange said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Dark Orange said:

Aether.

I may be misinterpreting, but I suspect that answer is dismissive of a perfectly good question.

It is a good question, and the ancient concept of Aether is as good an answer as any.

I suppose another Pratchettesq answer would be “It’s Aether, all the way down”.

Apologies for misinterpreting then.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Dark Orange said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

I may be misinterpreting, but I suspect that answer is dismissive of a perfectly good question.

It is a good question, and the ancient concept of Aether is as good an answer as any.

I suppose another Pratchettesq answer would be “It’s Aether, all the way down”.

Apologies for misinterpreting then.

No worries.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Michael V said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

OK, but not what I meant.

If you sat outside the universe, and observed part of its space-time in 4D, would you see something unchanging, or would different sections change over meta-time, as you observed them?

I have no idea what you mean by meta-time.

I mean a higher level time.

If you can view space-time from outside, and nothing changes at any given point, then the Universe has no meta-time, although there would have to be meta-time outside, to allow you to view different points of space-time.

OTOH, if a point in space-time does change, that would require a meta-time.

My dumb geologist’s brain tells me that this meta-time is conceptual only, and we have no way of knowing anything about it. Therefore it rejects the notion.

But it’s probably because I’m not bright enough to understand properly.

Thanks anyway.

:)

Dark Orange said:

btm said:

What is the universe made of? I don’t mean what’s the stuff that’s in the universe made of, but the substrate (for want of a better word) of the universe itself.

Aether.

Quintessence. No, wait, that’s just heaven, not the Universe.

:)