What do we hope to achieve?

[afterburner]

What do we hope to achieve, in terms of science? How good is that really going to be when we do finally achieve it.

For example. Its the year 2,072,109. We have technolgy that permits us to live forever (systems that sustain our bodies). Obviously we have perfected the liking of biological life to a computer, so we have a choice of living in a imaginary/made up world, where we tell the computer what we want, and it will simulate it, or living in the real world. Computers are now much more intelligent than humans, but we made them to be good. We can travel at the speed of light, and perhaps faster. We have a unified theory of the Universe. We are in constant communication with eachother, knowing what is being experienced by all known sentient beings that are "hooked up" SIMONTANEOUSLY (optional). We have accumulated, kept, and learned enough knowledge to make war and all issues seem silly, furthermore, our shields (or whatever means of defence) are so good, that nothing can possibly damage, or penetrate them...Weapons are a thing of the past. Oh, and did I mention we've reached all limits of technology, for our current Universe?

As you see in this example, we have learned to use energy to its full potential, according to those damn laws of physics that come with existing, and energy. We have even used our remarkable, planet-sized computers to figure out ALL other possible technologies that would be possible, IF the laws of physics were different (from slightly different, to very different, to removing forces, to adding new ones..you get the idea) (integration of these "otherwise possible" technologies with living in computer simulations).

In other words, thats it...end of the road...

My question to you is...What now?

[Edit]: Forgot to mention cloning, and customized bodies, organic computers, cloaking...all the good stuff

Oh and...Moderator...Can you please move this to off topic babbling? (my mistake)

[Ronald Brak]

Fun.

[Doodler]

I can't imagine us ever getting to the point of looking around going, "Ok, NOW what do we do with ourselves?"

[Hans]

If we ever got bored we could build arenas and fight one another.

[novaderrik]

so, essentially, we have become "gods"..
maybe we would create miniature universes full of creatures that look like us, and screw with their minds.

or

we would find a way to let our consciousness float freely thru the universe, without the need for pesky bodies..

[JohnD]

For a start, doesn't quantum theory say that we cannot know everything about everything? That discounts determinism, which late in the 19th Century led many to predict, like you, the end of endeavour.
The 'Scientific method' thread will show you that it is a constant process of refinement, interspersed with leaps onto new planes. Our most recent was relativity, but we (humans, possibly not you or me) will see more.

John

[hhEb09'1]

For a start, doesn't quantum theory say that we cannot know everything about everything? That discounts determinism, which late in the 19th Century led many to predict, like you, the end of endeavour.
The 'Scientific method' thread will show you that it is a constant process of refinement, interspersed with leaps onto new planes. Our most recent was relativity, but we (humans, possibly not you or me) will see more.

The quantum leap came at about the same time as the relativity leap. At least in certain frames. The information theory leap came later, as did chaos.

[Tinaa]

Moved per OP request.

[AGN Fuel]

It is my firmly held position that science has been moving inexorably forward since the Renaissance to the day when a DVD/Video recorder can be simply and intuitively pre-programmed without the standard process of violently and colourfully swearing and then searching for 40 minutes for the instruction manual (which you eventually find your wife has filed under 'T', for 'TV related thingies').

Alas, I fear that day is not close.

[Argos]

Two million years is time enough for another species to take the center stage. Never take progress for granted.