Good post, but how to deal with this information so that it is not so burdensome: Conway himself, upon creating The Game of Life, didn't believe that the cellular automaton could 'live' indefinitely, but was proven wrong shortly after his games creation by the discovery of the glider gun. We cannot assume that the cards were dealt perfectly and the universe or our existence is infinite, but we can hope that the pattern we have put down will continue to stand the test of time. Belief that we are impervious to extinction or that the universe will not ultimately implode leaving everything within no choice but to be squished into a single particle can only do us harm as we try to create new things and discover ways to transcend this existence. Hope that we will make it and that there is ultimately a way off of what may be a sinking ship is what keeps us going.
Good post, but how to deal with this information so that it is not so burdensome: Conway himself, upon creating The Game of Life, didn't believe that the cellular automaton could 'live' indefinitely, but was proven wrong shortly after his games creation by the discovery of the glider gun. We cannot assume that the cards were dealt perfectly and the universe or our existence is infinite, but we can hope that the pattern we have put down will continue to stand the test of time. Belief that we are impervious to extinction or that the universe will not ultimately implode leaving everything within no choice but to be squished into a single particle can only do us harm as we try to create new things and discover ways to transcend this existence. Hope that we will make it and that there is ultimately a way off of what may be a sinking ship is what keeps us going.