The transcension hypothesis: Sufficiently advanced civilizations invariably leave our universe, John M. Smart: Rich Murray 2012.06.18

[Rich Murray-2]

uh,  see A Course in Miracles (Jesus), Time, Space and Knowledge
(Tarthang Tulku, Rinpoche), The Nature of Personal Reality: A Seth
Book (Jane Roberts)...

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576511003304

Acta Astronautica
Volume 78, September -- October 2012, Pages 55-68
Searching for Life Signatures

The transcension hypothesis: Sufficiently advanced civilizations
invariably leave our universe, and implications for METI and SETI * **
John M. Smart a, b, c, d, , ,
a Acceleration Studies Foundation, 216 Mountain View Ave, Mountain
View, CA 94041, USA
b Evo Devo Universe Research Community, USA
c Emerging Technologies, University of Advancing Technology, Tempe, AZ, USA
d ECCO (Evol, Complexity & Cognition) Group, Center Leo Apostel, Free
U. of Brussels, Belgium
Received 12 March 2011. Revised 2 November 2011. Accepted 4 November
2011. Available online 16 December 2011.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.11.006, How to Cite or Link Using DOI
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Abstract

The emerging science of evolutionary developmental (“evo devo”)
biology can aid us in thinking about our universe as both an
evolutionary system, where most processes are unpredictable and
creative, and a developmental system, where a special few processes
are predictable and constrained to produce far-future-specific
emergent order, just as we see in the common developmental processes
in two stars of an identical population type, or in two genetically
identical twins in biology.

The transcension hypothesis proposes that a universal process of
evolutionary development guides all sufficiently advanced
civilizations into what may be called "inner space," a computationally
optimal domain of increasingly dense, productive, miniaturized, and
efficient scales of space, time, energy, and matter, and eventually,
to a black-hole-like destination.

Transcension as a developmental destiny might also contribute to the
solution to the Fermi paradox, the question of why we have not seen
evidence of or received beacons from intelligent civilizations.

A few potential evolutionary, developmental, and information theoretic
reasons, mechanisms, and models for constrained transcension of
advanced intelligence are briefly considered.

In particular, we introduce arguments that black holes may be a
developmental destiny and standard attractor for all higher
intelligence, as they appear to some to be ideal computing, learning,
forward time travel, energy harvesting, civilization merger, natural
selection, and universe replication devices.

In the transcension hypothesis, simpler civilizations that succeed in
resisting transcension by staying in outer (normal) space would be
developmental failures, which are statistically very rare late in the
life cycle of any biological developing system.

If transcension is a developmental process, we may expect brief
broadcasts or subtle forms of galactic engineering to occur in small
portions of a few galaxies, the handiwork of young and immature
civilizations, but constrained transcension should be by far the norm
for all mature civilizations.

The transcension hypothesis has significant and testable implications
for our current and future METI and SETI agendas.

If all universal intelligence eventually transcends to black-hole-like
environments, after which some form of merger and selection occurs,
and if two-way messaging (a send–receive cycle) is severely limited by
the great distances between neighboring and rapidly transcending
civilizations, then sending one-way METI or probes prior to
transcension becomes the only real communication option.

But one-way messaging or probes may provably reduce the evolutionary
diversity in all civilizations receiving the message, as they would
then arrive at their local transcensions in a much more homogenous
fashion.

If true, an ethical injunction against one-way messaging or probes
might emerge in the morality and sustainability systems of all
sufficiently advanced civilizations, an argument known as the Zoo
hypothesis in Fermi paradox literature, if all higher intelligences
are subject to an evolutionary attractor to maximize their local
diversity, and a developmental attractor to merge and advance
universal intelligence.

In any such environment, the evolutionary value of sending any
interstellar message or probe may simply not be worth the cost, if
transcension is an inevitable, accelerative, and testable
developmental process, one that eventually will be discovered and
quantitatively described by future physics.

Fortunately, transcension processes may be measurable today even
without good physical theory, and radio and optical SETI may each
provide empirical tests.

If transcension is a universal developmental constraint, then without
exception all early and low-power electromagnetic leakage signals
(radar, radio, television), and later, optical evidence of the
exoplanets and their atmospheres should reliably cease as each
civilization enters its own technological singularities (emergence of
postbiological intelligence and life forms) and recognizes that they
are on an optimal and accelerating path to a black-hole-like
environment.

Furthermore, optical SETI may soon allow us to map an expanding area
of the galactic habitable zone we may call the galactic transcension
zone, an inner ring that contains older transcended civilizations, and
a missing planets problem as we discover that planets with life
signatures occur at a much lower frequencies in this inner ring than
in the remainder of the habitable zone.

Keywords
Acceleration studies; Astrosociology; Barrow scale; Black holes; Black
hole accretion; Black hole time dilation; Complexity; Computronium;
Cosmological natural selection; Developmental immunity; Doppler
spectroscopy; Evolutionary development; Evo devo biology; Evo devo
universe; Exoplanets; Fermi paradox; Focal sphere; Fundamental
parameters; Performance capability metrics; Galactic habitable zone;
Galactic transcension zone; Gravitational lensing; Information theory;
Inner space; Intelligence principle; Kardashev scale; METI; Locality;
Log normal distribution; Low mass X-ray binary systems; Moore's law
limit; Morality; Missing planets problem; Polarimetry; Postbiological
life; Optical SETI; Order from noise; Radio SETI; Square kilometer
array; Star lifting; STEM compression; STEM density; STEM efficiency;
Stochasticity; Superexponential growth; Technological singularity;
Teleology; Transcension hypothesis; Two-way messaging limit; Universe
development; Universe evolution; Zoo hypothesis

*From presentation The Transcension Hypothesis,
2nd IAA Symposium on Searching for Life Signatures, 6-8 Oct 2010,
Kavli Royal Soc Internat'l Ctr, Buckinghamshire, UK.

**For an earlier article on this topic, see: Smart, John M. 2002.
“Answering the Fermi Paradox: Exploring the Mechanisms of Universal
Transcension,”
John Smart, Journal of Evolution and Technology, June 2002.

For a chapter-length treatment of the hypothesis, see:
Smart, John M. 2008. Evo Devo Universe? A Framework for Speculations
on Cosmic Culture
(PDF http://goo.gl/2Se4d )
In: Cosmos & Culture, Steven Dick and Mark Lupisella (Eds.), NASA Press, 2009.

Corresponding author at: Acceleration Studies Foundation,
216 Mountain View Ave, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA.
Tel.:             [phone]      .
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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