11-03-2018, 12:05 PM | #11 | |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: The deep dark haunted woods
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
Quote:
My late father was an English Teacher - I have seen the sheer power of someone lecturing on the proper arrangement of "I" and "E" and justified uses of "to" and "too" at close enough range to sear my retinas. Can even that much processing power actually simulate the sheer pedantry of thousands of nitpicking grammarians?
__________________
"When you talk about damage radius, even atomic weapons pale before that of an unfettered idiot in a position of power." - Sam Starfall from the webcomic Freefall |
|
11-03-2018, 12:12 PM | #12 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
It doesn't have to be gaming simulations. It could be that for their level of physics, they need to perform insanely in depth long term simulations to render experiments safe. If we fly by the seat of our pants, we may cause local explosions. If a TL 12 dose so, it unmakes reality.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. Last edited by Flyndaran; 11-03-2018 at 12:18 PM. |
11-03-2018, 02:33 PM | #13 |
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, U.S.A.
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
Good point.
Actually, depending on whether vacuum decay can be triggered by nano-black holes, we might already have the ability to accidentally destroy the current universe with particle accelerators. Playing with antimatter or zero point energy sources may be more likely to cause problems, though.
__________________
I have Confused and Clueless. Sometimes I miss sarcasm and humor, or critically fail my Savoir-Faire roll. None of it is intentional. Published GURPS Settings (as of 4/2013 -- I hope to update it someday...) Last edited by Vaevictis Asmadi; 11-03-2018 at 02:37 PM. |
11-03-2018, 02:45 PM | #14 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
We aren't going to manage anything with particle accelerators that hasn't already happened many times in supernovae.
__________________
The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
11-03-2018, 02:51 PM | #15 |
Untagged
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
Are we really anywhere near that level? I assumed we were still in the "rare cosmic rays hitting the upper atmosphere" level.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check. |
11-03-2018, 02:58 PM | #16 |
Night Watchman
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
We're nowhere near the supernova level, or the most powerful cosmic rays that we know of.
__________________
The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques. |
11-03-2018, 03:16 PM | #17 |
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, U.S.A.
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
I'm not suggesting it's likely, except in fiction. I know cosmic rays have a much greater chance of causing vacuum decay, and haven't yet that we know of. But we are talking about fiction.
__________________
I have Confused and Clueless. Sometimes I miss sarcasm and humor, or critically fail my Savoir-Faire roll. None of it is intentional. Published GURPS Settings (as of 4/2013 -- I hope to update it someday...) |
11-03-2018, 03:48 PM | #18 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
I'd most likely use such a thing as a McGuffin in a campaign.
That said I think a central processor and networking not at the center surrounded by a bunch of large processor networks with ever smaller sub networks and a lot of parallel tasks and and hand offs seems the most likely arrangement. Also several data stores acting as a sort of cache memory for what an individual section is working on.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more! My GURPS fan contribution and blog: REFPLace GURPS Landing Page My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items) My GURPS Wiki entries |
11-03-2018, 09:27 PM | #19 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
When you have computers the size of planets, the level of simulation is rather astounding. While I doubt that human intelligences may be simulated below Complexity 10, such a computer could simulate hundreds of septillions of such intelligences. Even a perfect simulation of a person on the molecular level could probably be done by a Complexity 16 simulation, meaning that a computer of Complexity 33 could create a virtual star system identical to our own thousands of times over (assuming a molecular simulation of the entire star system would require Complexity 30). Of course, a molecular simulation would probably be unnecessary, but it would create a virtual star system indistinguishable from the real world.
|
11-03-2018, 11:13 PM | #20 |
Join Date: Dec 2005
|
Re: Planetary Mass Computers
Sadly, Windows 40000 is a complexity 32 program. Still, the graphics on Pong will be a little sharper.
__________________
http://www.neutralgroundgames.com |
|
|