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Reminds me of a short story by Liu Cixin, the author of the Three Body Problem. In it, a character discovers that, as a result of 11 dimensional string space, t
by CapmCrackaWaka 5y ago
Reminds me of a short story by Liu Cixin, the author of the Three Body Problem. In it, a character discovers that, as a result of 11 dimensional string space, there is a finite number of possible initial configurations to the Big Bang, each one resulting in a deterministic universe with its own distinct combination of fundamental constants (speed of light, Coulomb’s constant, pi, etc.). He explores this quite a bit. It’s pure sci-fi, but fun to read.
- legobmw99 5y agoWhat’s the name of this short story?
- chrisjharris 5y agoIt's... it's not at all short.
- Phelinofist 5y agoI think it is The Mirror
- Koiwai 5y agoI read a lot (if not all) of his work, I'd like to say just ignore his physics, he's really not good at that. I'm not saying enjoying his story is a bad thing.
- gilbetron 5y agoYeah, the invocation of quantum entanglement in the 3 body problem was ... a problem. The best scifi of any "hardness" is by authors that know the limits of their own understanding of science and physics and beyond that point they don't try to explain things. I can accept a premise that violates physics, I have a tough time accepting an explanation that violates physics, if that makes sense. "Assume that the society actually found tachyons and figured out how to use them to communicate FTL" is fine, but "quantum entanglement really does let you communicate FTL" is hard to get past. Like you said, though, still great books and a great writer :)
- joombaga 5y agoDo you like how Star Trek handles this? Your transporter can't determine a particle's location and trajectory simultaneously? Add a Heisenberg compensator. Fixed. You can't accelerate to warp without soupifying the crew? Inertial dampeners. But never explain how either of these things work.
- gilbetron 5y agoGenerally speaking, yep! It works for Star Trek, although sometimes they get to elaborate in their descriptions or start to take the "science" too far. But generally they walk the line of science-y sounding explanation decently well. How about you?
- stillbourne 5y agoAnathem by Neal Stephenson also touches on that topic.