Frank J. Tipler (born in 1947 in Andalusia, Alabama) is a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Andalusia is a city located in Covington County, Alabama. ... Mathematical physics is the scientific discipline concerned with the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and for the formulation of physical theories1. ... Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... Nickname: Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Government  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area  - City  350. ...

Academic work

In his controversial^{[citation needed]} book The Physics of Immortality, Tipler claims to prove the existence of life after death, provided by an artificial intelligence he calls the "Omega Point" and which he identifies with God. The line of argument is that the evolution of intelligent species will enable scientific progress to grow exponentially, eventually enabling control over the universe even on the largest possible scale. Tipler predicts that this process will culminate with a nearly all-powerful artificial intelligence whose computing speed and information storage will grow exponentially at a rate exceeding the collapse of the Universe, thus providing infinite "virtual time" which will be used to run computer simulations of all intelligent life that has ever lived in the history of our universe. This virtual reality exercise is what Tipler means by "the resurrection of the dead." Hondas humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Omega point. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Universe is a word derived from the Old French univers, which in turn comes from the Latin roots unus (one) and versus (a form of vertere, to turn). Based on observations of the observable universe, physicists attempt to describe the whole of space-time, including all matter and energy and... Hondas humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... Virtual reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with a computer-simulated environment, be it a real or imagined one. ...

Tipler claims to derive this end state and its inevitability from general principles. However, a large majority of his colleagues in physics consider his logic to be flawed and do not take his theory seriously. Tipler's so-called Omega Point Theory makes physical assumptions, in particular that the universe will end in a final singularity (the Big Crunch), and that no other (nonfinal) singularities exist in the universe. These assumptions are by no means universally accepted. In physical cosmology, the Big Crunch is the hypothesis that the universe will collapse upon itself after its expansion eventually stops — a counterpart to the Big Bang. ...

George Ellis's review of Tipler's book in the journal Nature is typical of the reception Tipler received in the academic community: according to Ellis, Tipler's book on the Omega Point is "a masterpiece of pseudoscience ... the product of a fertile and creative imagination unhampered by the normal constraints of scientific and philosophical discipline", ^[1] and Michael Shermer devoted a chapter of Why People Believe Weird Things to enumerating perceived flaws in Tipler's thesis.^[2] Other scientists, such as Oxford physicist David Deutsch, find Tipler's arguments compelling. In his 1997 book, The Fabric of Reality, Deutsch incorporates Tipler's Omega Point Theory as a central feature of his "Four Strands" Theory of Everything. George Ellis is the Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. ... Nature is one of the most prominent scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Phrenology is regarded today as a classic example of pseudoscience. ... Michael Shermer Michael Shermer Ph. ... Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time is a book by Michael Shermer published in 1997 by Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0805070893. ... David Deutsch (born 1953) is a physicist at Oxford University. ... Omega point is a term invented by French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe the ultimate maximum level of complexity-consciousness, considered by him the aim towards which consciousness evolves. ...

His earlier book, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (with John D. Barrow), reviews the intellectual history of teleology, the large number coincidences of Eddington and P. A. M. Dirac, then sets out Tipler's thinking as of the early 1980s on the ultimate fate of the universe. In physics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is an umbrella term for various dissimilar attempts to explain the structure of the universe by way of coincidentally balanced features that are necessary and relevant to the existence of observers (usually assumed to be carbon-based life or even specifically human beings). ... John David Barrow FRS (born November 29, 1952, London) is an English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician. ... Teleology (telos: end, purpose) is the philosophical study of design, purpose, directive principle, or finality in nature or human creations. ... One of Sir Arthur Stanley Eddingtons papers announced Einsteins theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. ... Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, (August 8, 1902 - October 20, 1984) was a British theoretical physicist and a founder of the field of quantum physics. ... The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology. ...

Over the years, Tipler has had fruitful interactions with the theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg.^{[citation needed]} Wolfhart Pannenberg (born 1928) is a German Christian theologian. ...

Tipler's writings on scientific peer review have been cited by William A. Dembski as forming the basis of the process for review in the intelligent design journal Progress in Complexity, Information and Design of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design, where both Tipler and Dembski serve as fellows. Peer review (known as refereeing in some academic fields) is a scholarly process used in the publication of manuscripts and in the awarding of funding for research. ... William A. Dembski William Albert Bill Dembski (born July 18, 1960) is an American mathematician, philosopher, theologian and proponent of intelligent design in opposition to the theory of evolution through natural selection. ... ICSIDs logo The International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design (ISCID) is a self-styled professional society that promotes the controversial idea of intelligent design — that there is scientifiic evidence for design in life. ...

Books

• 1986. The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (with John D. Barrow). Oxford Uni. Press. ISBN 0-19-282147-4
• 1994. The Physics of Immortality. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-46799-0
• 2007. The Physics of Christianity. tenatively scheduled to be released in May 2007.

In physics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is an umbrella term for various dissimilar attempts to explain the structure of the universe by way of coincidentally balanced features that are necessary and relevant to the existence of observers (usually assumed to be carbon-based life or even specifically human beings). ... John David Barrow FRS (born November 29, 1952, London) is an English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician. ...

See also

• Tipler Cylinder
• "The Last Question"

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Last Question is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. ...

References

George Ellis is the Distinguished Professor of Complex Systems at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), in the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. ... Nature is one of the most prominent scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Michael Shermer Michael Shermer Ph. ... Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time is a book by Michael Shermer published in 1997 by Henry Holt and Company ISBN 0805070893. ...

External links

• Frank Tipler's personal website
• Refereed Journals: Do They Insure Quality or Enforce Orthodoxy? at the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design, i.e., Intelligent design.