How do you study science, especially physics, without becoming depressed...

Get fucked. This is why you do math. I live in la-la land, no need to worry about my inevitable death and the nothingness that will follow.

Just chill and don't worry.

"What about the reality where Hitler cured cancer, Morty. The answer is: Don't think about it." - Rick

You just got your answer from a cartoon.

It's better to view dying as the price we have to pay for being alive. You get more value for your "purchase" if you embrace it and do the things you love. Or you can just whine about the price, cower in fear and still have to pay it.

That's not what i was saying
I meant future humans

By practicing cynicism and black humor.

Yeah, but that's wrong!

accept the fact that we live in a simulation and that everything is going to be okay. humans are free, but there are certain plot points in history that will definetely happen. the election of trump and the war that is probably coming is one of them. accept the fact its all a simulation and it will ease the pain, because you will realize its not real.

Everything is deterministic, not only important events. After all, important events don't happen without small events leading up to them and causing them with a domino effect.

I'm actually a 2nd year physics major who is currently going through this existential crisis too. I just lost my 3rd grandparent a few weeks ago and my grandma has been having my sister and I take whatever we want of his before donating. It's crazy how you just eventually stop experiencing all of this. I spent most of today sleeping because I'm so stressed about this whole thing. One day, it'll be that feeling without the waking up part. I recommend reading The Myth of Sisyphus. That's the only thing that I feel like I relate to right now.

Maybe science is not for you?

Some of us have had much more severe losses. Remember you're still much luckier than some and anyway you'll get over this. Sorry if I seem insensitive but I just wish it had only been a grandparent. My condolences regardless, and good luck to you.

I like to think about how life and the universe has no predetermined meaning, thus with hard work and motivation we can morph the reality around us to fit our own ideals and desires.

Also, since nothing matters, everything then must matter equally, so thus we can choose what is most important to us personally, in order to reach our maximum potential and happiness

damn bro ur such a deep thinker really makes u think huh

Try asking /r9k/

>implying freewill
>implying we aren't genetically designed to give more about some shit than other shits

That sounds suspiciously like you got your view of the universe from Steins;Gate.

Accepting that you're going to die doesn't really have much to do with science. The heat death prediction is a bit sad but it's so ridiculously far away that it's pointless to worry about it.

u idiot, don't u realize science is the precursor to medicine

>dude everything is deterministic lmao
>dude we live in a simulation lmao
Laplace's demon would like to have a word with you.

>laplace
>la place
>la
>le
>>>/reddit/

Opee, for one, I wouldn't care too much since it'll never happen in your lifetime. And even once we get to the eventual end of the universe (outside of a false vacuum collapse or some scifi bullshit that could make it happen earlier) humanity likely won't be left, either.

Personally, if somehow immortality technology became possible in my life, I'd like to live through to the end, just to see what it is and what it looks like.

I'm going through the same shit motherfuck, just remember that literally everyone that came before you have lived and died most of them with absolutely no contribution to science, what a waste. I find it fascinating that a random configuration of atoms aggregated to create such an extraordinary creature albeit for a brief moment in the cosmos. The absolute key to happiness is finding something greater than yourself and devoting your time to it until you die, science is almost always definitely that something.

Laplace's Demon is literally the argument for determinism you fucking mongoloid. Why are you acting like that defeats me? You just supported my argument that everything is deterministic.

you just have to accept it. We all end, and once we're gone, we don't care or know that we're dead. There isn't some grand purpose, and that's ok. Life can be great, and being dead isn't painful or scary. It's the transition that can be a bitch, from the look of it.

Once you accept there's no objective, eternal purpose, you can focus on what you can do- making your world a better place and being happy. Not being able to fix everything doesn't make it worthless to fix what you can.

youtube.com/watch?v=2NmUcdptXsE

The general consensus is that Laplaces demon is false, even though it has not yet been 100% disproven. The fact that you blindy accept the theory makes you a brainlet.

Go ahead then, give me a solid argument against it.

OP, you have discovered the true. You have two options: play the game just for the lulz (because you can't achieve something) or simply commit suicide.

The alternative is a hell of a lot more frightening.

I mean, living, or at least experiencing consciousness, forever? I dunno how anyone who believes in this can sleep at night (particularly among religions that believe their loving god will banish them to eternal torment more often than not.)

In the materialist model of death, you just cease to be. As they so often say in these threads, "Remember all that time before you were born? Yeah, death is kinda like that."

You won't exist, you won't experience, you won't care. Under that belief, it's not an eternity of blackness or any such, it's just non-existence.

I can't think of anything more freeing and releasing than that, anything more merciful than a simple end to existence.

I suppose you can frame it to be scary:
youtube.com/watch?v=HuKB0_t3J0A
But non-existence is nothing to be scared of, for it is an end to fear.

I'm not saying I know what happens after death, mind you, as Carlin said, anyone who does is trying to sell you something. But of all the beliefs of life after death, I find the lack there of to be the most comforting.

>In the materialist model of death, you just cease to be.
Wrong. There is nothing that exists in the first place, so nothing can "cease". So get rid of those wild assumptions you have and try to post something that makes sense.

That's a rather extreme interpretation of the materialist view. Rather than just assuming you're trolling me, I'll ask you to elaborate on that.

Bruh, just get good enough at physics and related shit so you can upload your brain to a computer. No big deal

Not believing in unique human souls is an "extreme interpretation" of materialism?

Here's an example for why you are full of shit: you believe that two identical steel spheres are no different, but believe that two identical living human bodies ARE different, despite being identical.

People like OP believe with absolute certainty that this paradox is true, and view the universe as some illogical mass of chaos because of it.

I... Never said anything about the soul. Materialism doesn't do souls.

Materialism doesn't *really* do consciousness either, but nor does does every variant of it outright deny it. Those that allow for it simply states that consciousness, insomuch as it exists, is a property of the configuration of the body, and once the body permanently ceases to function, so to does its consciousness, thus eliminating the mind-body duality.

What two identical bodies being two separate things has to do with anything, I've no idea, but there are countless objects in this universe that are physically identical down to the atomic, and even the basic subatomic level, that are nonetheless different objects. Not every carbon 60 buckyball is the same carbon 60 buckyball, despite the fact that they are all identical (or certain chemistry experiments would get really weird), nor, on the more macro level, is every PS4 the same PS4, even when networked, or there'd be a hell of a lot more arguments over who gets to play Darksouls tonight.

The point is that idea of a "subject" is incompatible with materialism, and anything that isn't materialism is incompatible with science. You can't attribute real properties to "identities" because identities are an artefact of language.

I'm not your professor mate, it's your job to educate yourself before you start spewing shit everywhere. I suggest you start with: lmgtfy.com/?q=Arguments against Laplace demon

Even if set theorem maybe more philosophy than science, if you can't apply identities and properties to objects, how do you do any science?

I've already done that. Literally every argument I come across misses the point entirely. The shitty "arguments" against it "argue" that it is actually impossible to compute fast enough to predict the future. No fucking shit, that's not the point. The point is that there is only one future which is caused by the present, in the same way that there is only one past that was caused by the past before it.

Brainlets miss the point and go on and on about how no computer could possibly simulate the whole universe, but they're missing the point -- nobody claimed it's plausible. Laplace's demon is supposed to illustrate that there is only one way things can happen. It is not supposed to suggest that we could predict it.

i just study to pass the exam without really getting into it
after the exam i get more free time to jerk off and watch tv, and that cheers me up

Not him, but it looks like you've only read about a single argument against the Demon when Wikipedia lists 4. Perhaps read the rest of those?

Don't you think Bell's Theorem disproves Laplace's Demon?

Are you familiar with the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the wise?

Brainlet here, if the big bounce theory is true does that mean it's possible I will be born again in the next universe or the one after that? Pls no bully.

Hubble killed that.

But if it was still a thing, it'd probably just mean you were doomed to live the exact same life, over and over again, for eternity. (Though, mercifully, you'd be unaware of it.)

>hubble killed that
Explain please

>implying I won't join the army so I can die sooner.

The orbital telescope discovered that the universe's rate of expansion is accelerating faster than gravity can ever compensate for (later confirmed by a few hundred astonished scientists through various other devices). Thus, under the current cosmological model, you're looking at heat death followed by a big rip. No crunchies.

Well, that, coupled with measurements of the CMB radiation more or less proving the universe is "flat".

But, if we ever get off this rock, I suppose there's always the possibility we can find a way to tweak the cosmological constant during the nigh infinite time we'd have to figure that out. Even if I'd never imagine us voluntarily re-engineering it into a big crunch, lest maybe there were no other options.

Be a fun plot for a sci-fi war though - big battle between the 'let it die', and the 'recycle it forever' type IV civs.

Acceptance and controlling your emotional responses are the solution to your existential terrors. All things in the universe have an end, at least according to the human perspective of endings and beginnings; what we perceive to be an ending might be delayed for billions of years, but it will still come. It is reasonable to find peace with this instead of writhing in an impotent angst.

Enjoy this procedurally-generated motivational image.

...

Just dedicate your life to pic related. Remember that numerical methods are the only methods that are truly mathematical. Ramanujen himself said that numbers were all that math was about, not stupid stuff like categorys or string theories or fuctorials.

Also, fuck imaginary numbers in the neck. Imaginary=not real, how about that for an equation.

At least read about these topics before posting please.

This is what Bell himself said about his own theorem: "There is a way to escape the inference ofsuperluminalspeeds and spooky action at a distance. But it involves absolutedeterminismin the universe, the complete absence offree will. Suppose the world is super-deterministic, with not just inanimate nature running on behind-the-scenes clockwork, but with our behavior, including our belief that we are free to choose to do one experiment rather than another, absolutely predetermined, including the ‘decision’ by the experimenter to carry out one set of measurements rather than another, the difficulty disappears. There is no need for a faster-than-light signal to tell particleAwhat measurement has been carried out on particleB, because the universe, including particleA, already ‘knows’ what that measurement, and its outcome, will be.[5]"

You could have just read the Wikipedia page to find that.

So no, his theorem does not "disprove" determinism and Laplace's demon, because he himself conceded that absolute determinism could in fact resolve issues with it.

Likewise every other "argument" against it either misses the point or doesn't really refute it.

Find a goal (e.g. figuring out x) and stick to focus on achieving it rather than worrying about everything else in physics

Don't know how much weight there is to it, but there is a theory or two involving continuous expansion with repeated big bangs.

Advanced civilizations turning back the expansion of the universe seems a bit less plausible than most ideas.

Never heard of that - would like to read more about it. The only "repeating" big bang theory I ever heard of was one following a big crunch, which was considered a possibility for a long time, but yeah, for better or worse, died due to observational evidence.

I guess the feeling of everything being pointless is what kind of gets to me.
But getting panic attack over it is going too far.

Good thread everyone, but you can go home now. Well played, all of you.

I want all of you physicists to know that you're doing God's work. Literally. The whole point of being Man, being an Image of God, is to learn how the universe works completely. It is safe to say that, at that point, you will also be able to create a universe. Thus, you will have become God. This is how God reproduces.

Anyways, good luck with solving the problem of entropy and whatnot. I'll be too busy wiping asses as a male nurse.

I really hope this is bait..

Well user, isn't it comforting that the world is a cold, harsh trivial place? It means you have to worry about jack shit, because memes such as the afterlife don't exist. There is no god that is continually watching, and judging everything you do.

If you wanna commit suicide? No problem, there will not be any long term consequences. Do you want to commit an unforgivable crime? No worries, there will not be any long term consequences. Worried about death? No problem, when you die you will not feel anything, and you don't even notice that you stop existing. Do you want to know why people sometimes can be such dicks? No worries, you can all trace it back to nature & nurture and find closure.

Embrace the world, I know life is trivial. That doesn't mean you can't have fun. Why be depressed if you can spend the time you're here doing fun shit?

>dude just apply some anesthetics to your soul lmao

daily reminder that not investing a major portion of your energy into medical advancement and its supporting industries is literally suicide.

>If you wanna commit suicide? No problem, there will not be any long term consequences.
Except not existing.

>Do you want to commit an unforgivable crime? No worries, there will not be any long term consequences.
Except maybe being in prison for the rest of your life, which is as close to eternity as you're going to get, and a complete waste at your one shot at existence. Or the state enforces non-existence upon you.

Afterlife or no, there's still consequences for your actions, and they can be as long term as can possibly matter to you.

There was never any reason to live, so why does it bother you all of a sudden?

That's the best I can come up with. Is Myth of Sisyphus as good as it gets?

I know I emailed Wes a question re this episode but I started thinking more…………..So if we can never get beyond the questions and the recognition there is “no escape” and if we embrace an inquiry to which we know there is no answer and focus on the struggle–what worries me is where are we left? I understand the idea of being satisfied with the “struggle” but to know it is likely futile…then…its hard, having been raised in this time and in this society, to grasp the validity, a comfort with that experience

Though I very much want to

Isn’t that the role of the philosopher anyway?

And to the question of asserting there is “meaning” found when your work is recognized by “others”, I have a real problem with that. Doesn’t that infer focusing on the “end” and not the “question” or the “struggle” and hence the “work” itself?

I have always found I create something better when I don’t consider the “end” (this does not discount my concern voiced earlier as I am discussing creating work here, not the “search”)

And further I feel slightly foolish worrying about where happiness is found in all this

“And further I feel slightly foolish worrying about where happiness is found in all this.”

I think that’s the point. If you require a reason to be happy with life, then you probably aren’t (happy)

“I understand the idea of being satisfied with the “struggle” but to know it is likely futile…then…its hard..”

A struggle is only futile if there is a goal which it cannot achieve. The thing about the ‘absurd life’ is that there is no goal, and so futility is not a concept that can be applied to it

People in general seem to have a base desire for validation, I think this is why they search for meaning in life, and find it either in religion or the recognition of others. If I understand correctly, Camus is saying this desire should not be the impetus for much of anything, living least of all.

H to the E to the... donism.

...

Woo!

From the comments of the myth of Sisyphus episode of the partially examined life podcast

I feel like that is trying to fill a leaking cup.

I see life as way more pain than pleasure by default so I don't see it as effective
Of course to each their own though

Death is harsh truth, and life is a beautiful lie my friend.

Nikola Tesla said something like this:
If you want to understand life,think about energy-everything you see is energy

My personal thought is that god (also) isnt Jesus,Buddah or Alla, but some creature of energy.
As for life, you will turn in another form of energy

Speaking of this, a lot of smart people belive that this is why some places get haunted. Because something keeps your energy attached to some place or a object.

That's a shitty paradox. Nothing in existence is 100% identical. Neither the spheres nor humans are identical.

is it just when studying?
I just read the textbook my teacher use and do questions
I feel nothing like that

accept that maybe you're wrong, and that you just have to find out

thats how you have fun with it

Study some Stoicism philosophy

Smart people don't believe that. When a person dies their chemical energy is dispersed throughout the food chain via scavengers and bacteria over time. There's no left over hocus pocus shit.

>he fears death and his own mortality

Come on step it up.

fuckin bump

consciousness is all that matters anyway, doesn't make a difference whether it lasts, but even so it lasts for a relative eternity

I consider everything that I cannot change as irrelevant.

There are things in the universe that are identical down to the atomic level. Doesn't mean they are the same object. (Nevermind all the nearly identical mass manufactured objects.)

But the post he's linking to does not suggest that materialism has room for souls (indeed it's saying the opposite), only that objects can be attributed with properties and individually identified to one degree or another, such as alive, dead, and "Bob".

Might consider revising that, lest you forget to eat, breath, or the fact that your car cannot safely pass through other cars while driving.

Simply living kinda forces us to prepare for things we cannot change and treat them as entirely relevant.

It works opposite for me. Here is something that is independent of my health and those around me. It will be worth spending time on it because it will still be there no matter what when all of us are gone one day.

The more you prepare for everything bad that potentially could happen but you can't affect then you will get less and less done.

If you don't prepare for the worst are you then always vulnerable to it?

I mean this in a more mental-preparedness way not I gotta go buy a mineshaft in Colaorado and buy 50 years of MREs in case of nuclear winter.

Because you cant prove that anything but you exist either

>There are things in the universe that are identical down to the atomic level.
No there aren't. Quantum theory much?

They are... at the *atomic* level. Subatomic is another matter, but even on that level, every 20C Buckyball is nearly identical, and often entangled to boot.

Carroll, Sean (2016). The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

Unweaving the Rainbow (subtitled "Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder") by Richard Dawkins

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter

etc