Theology: God == Noise

God is perfect	(given)
Being perfect, God contains no redundancy	(a less redundant being would be more perfect)
Being devoid of redundancy there is no other entity with the same attributes as God that can be fully described with [or which represents] less information	(definition of non-redundant)
Therefore God is incompressible	(compressibility would imply redundancy)
If something is incompressible it is functionally equivalent to perfect noise/mathematical randomness	(dude, it's all about information theory)
Therefore God is indistinguishable from perfect mathematical randomness (noise).	(QED)

[This may explain a few things....]

Digital Theology

The Last Question

This is a story I first heard about 10 years ago but didn't get around to reading until just today. I'm really a sucker for religious fiction. OK, that's a bit vague, since it's all pretty much fiction. I'm a really interested in unique variations of religious themes and fiction that takes religious ideas to their (absurdly) logical extremes. My favorite movie on this vein in recent years was Frailty. I'm still not sure I understand why the movie was named that. Great movie nonetheless and perfectly typifies the sort of religious fantasy I find most interesting.

Back to the story above. I've had several people summarize this story to me over the years. In finally reading I see that they had subtly changed the plot and basic gist. The thing that's most memorable is the "punch line" at the end, which everyone seems to get right. I find it strange that people remember this story so inaccurately. Perhaps it's the kind of story where you want it to say a certain thing and so you just make up plot details.

Any way, enjoy. Do you have any favorite religious fantasy you think I should read/see?

God Hacks

• Foreword (by Pope Benedict XVI and Brian Flemming)
  
• Preface
  
• Contents
  
• God basics
  • Why "god hacks"?
    
  • Minimal system requirements
    
  • Determining which god is right for you
    
  • Turning off the nagging voice of doubt
    
  • Care and Feeding of your god
• Understanding your owner's manual
  • Stop laughing, it's all true.
    
  • Quick overview of how we got here and what we are supposed to do now.
    
  • Contradiction Harmonization: it's all too crazy *not* to be true.
    
  • Navigating the silicon age with the wisdom of the iron age.
• Installation, Upgrades, Fix packs, Uninstalls
  • How do I install a deity ("Getting saved")?
    
  • How do I upgrade up to the "next level"?
    
  • How do I uninstall my deity ("Apostasy")?
• Communication Hacks
  • One-way asynchronous mode ("prayer")
    
  • Troubleshooting the "Deity Not Found" response.
    
  • Avoiding ironic answers to prayer.
    
  • Discriminating between hearing God's voice and "those crazy voices"
    
  • Classical interpretation techniques: tea leaves, entrails, and you
• Divine Wrath: Avoidance and Responses
  • Is it wrath or just random?
    
  • Diagnosing the reason for the wrath
    
  • Efficient, results-based grovelling
• Keeping the Commandments:
  • If it feels good: Stop!
    
  • Killing infidels
    
  • Sharing the Joy: Mind virus transmission techniques
• Afterlife hacks
  • Performing a vice/virtue audit for estimating your current eternal reward status
    
  • Work arounds for predestination
    
  • Asbestos underwear: preparing for worst case scenarios.
• Financial Considerations
  • Calculating your ideal tithing rate to maximize ROI.
    
  • Determining the most cost efficient religion for you
    
  • Starting your own religion for fun and (mostly) profit.
• Hacking Theological puzzles
  • How to interpret God's silence as proof of his existence
    
  • How to use the concept of freewill to explain away god's non-interference policy
    
  • Putting God in the gaps and keeping him there.
• Reboots, System Recovery
  • Sin (understanding the point system)
    
  • Forgiveness
    
  • So you've traded your soul for a fiddle....
• Troubleshooting
  • Your options when god breaks his promise
    
  • Help, my god is commanding me to _____. (Dealing with unreasonable requests)
• Advanced Hacks
  • Making your own god from scratch
    
  • Becoming a god your self (apotheosis)
    
  • Removing the "god virus" from yourself and others

[atheism]