What does Singularity mean?
In: Physics
In the mathematical sense it’s a point that isn’t well defined or “well behaved”. Idk if you divide by 0 you end up with a point that isn’t well defined as depending on how you end up with 0 you get a value of infinity or close to 0 or 1 or whatnot.
Or if you have stuff like resonance (catastrophe):
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_resonance#/media/File:Resonance.PNG](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_resonance#/media/File:Resonance.PNG)
Where if you excited an oscillation with the exact right frequency it would technically increase in amplitude without limit. In reality though it would break at one point.
Or the idea of the technological singularity, in that if better tech lets us build better tech, than this is exponentially increasing so at one point the graph will almost go straight up.
It depends on the context. The word ‘singularity’ only means the state of being singular.
In physics, it often refers to black holes, single points of such intense gravity that not even light can escape.
In math, it refers to the point where a mathematical model or object ceases to follow the ‘normal’ rules of math – such as being finite or differentiable.
In technology, it refers to the point when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible – often in reference to the point when an AI becomes so advanced that it can improve itself beyond the limits of its programing.
In engineering and mechanics, it refers to the point when a machine’s behavior can no longer be predicted accurately.
A singularity is a mathematical term where a point is not defined or a point where the mathematical object ceases to be well-behaved in some particular way. Usually it applies to a point where a function goes to infinity. The function 1/x has a singularity at x=0.
So you’ll have to be more specific in what exactly you are asking for. Are you asking about Black Hole singularities? That’s the point where all the mass of a black hole is infinitely concentrated (hence, why we call it a singularity). Or are you perhaps asking about AI concept of The Singularity. This is point in our technological development where our technology is capable of advancing itself faster than we can on our own, thus creating an “infinite” explosion in technological progress no longer controlled or understood by ourselves.
A spacetime singularity is a place in spacetime such that it’s possible to reach the it from the outside within *finite* proper time. That mean, from the perspective of the object moving toward the singularity, only finite time had passed, and the object just move into non-space, somehow.
Singularity are generally understood to be the failure of physical theory at that range, because it’s unbelievable that objects just go into non-space in finite time. Maybe there are some extra variables that need to be accounted for, they are too small at bigger range but really matter once you shrink down to a small region around a point; a famous case of this is the Ultraviolet catastrophe which lead to quantum mechanics (very small stuff need new physical law), and quantum mechanics run into this kind of problem often. However, in relativity, an alternative approach is to just keep the same theory, push it to its logical conclusion, but still fix the singularity, by extending the solutions: adding more spacetime in, more than originally conceived, to complete spacetime. This procedure is analogous to you seeing a hole on a piece a paper and gluing some paper over it. This process leads to prediction of extra universe.
Since we’re doing ELI5…
Why is it that when you push two pieces of wood together, they don’t smush together and become one smaller piece of wood? Because the atoms that make up the pieces of wood push against each other, repel each other. They want to own their own little bit of space. They resist being smushed.
But they can only push back so hard. With enough force, you *can* smush atoms together, breaking them down into smaller things. Those smaller things also don’t want to be smushed together, but with enough force, they will too. Everything will, with enough force.
A black hole has, in its center, a singularity. It’s where there is so much gravity smushing things together, that no force can resist it. They smush down really small. In fact, if you’re picturing a very small ball, ask yourself: why is there even a ball? Why wouldn’t gravity smush it into something *even smaller*? And it does. It smushes everything until it’s got no size- it’s width is zero, nothing, nada.
But it still has all the mass, the weight, of all that stuff. So it weighs more than a star does, but it’s infinitely small. This is a singularity.
When we try to do the math related to physics, all of the math stops making sense when you’ve got a singularity. That’s what makes it interesting.
I see many great previous posts giving very scientific based explanations for singularity.
In as boiled down and practical sense that I can, here is how I see it.
Singularity is the point where current AI/self learning/etc. tips across a barrier where it can essentially self teach/ self learn. It’s the day where once man made programming and logic reaches the point where AI no longer needs additional rules/logic. It’s the point where existing man made programming and self learning is good enough that the AI itself can self process and basically “figure out the rest” on it’s own without human input, which the AI does at the speed of computation, so almost instantly.
Singularity will occur almost instantly, on the day existing the dumb AI/robots we have at home which operates purely based on programmed logic (think Alexa, Siri, etc.), seemingly instantly transforms overnight into a fully logical consciousness far greater than anything mankind currently has. It reaches a tipping point where there is enough existing programming to allow for AI to essentially figure out the rest and almost instantly synthesize a human like mind on it’s own.
[removed]
There are three major type of ‘singularity’ that you could be describing.
1. The point at which a mathematical function reaches infinity.
2. The theoretical point in the center of a black hole. (related to 1)
3. The point at which technology reaches a ‘runaway’.
Which are you asking about?
**Please read this entire message**
Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):
Straightforward or factual queries are not allowed on ELI5. ELI5 is meant for simplifying complex concepts.
If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/krn8i2/eli5_what_does_singularity_mean/%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20Link%20to%20the%20search%20you%20did%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20the%20ELI5%20subreddit:%0A%0A3.%20How%20is%20this%20post%20unique:) and we will review your submission.
I wanted to add a different interpretation of the question:
The Singularity is also referred to in most science fiction as the point in which the human brain is able to be fully compiled by a machine. Some only link this event to it’s outcome [e.g. the singularity is when artificial intelligence meets or exceeds human cognition; or when your thoughts/dreams/memories can be recorded; or you can download a book to your brain to learn a new language, etc]. The implications are always intriguing to explore, especially via your western hollywood rendition [Johnny Mnemonic; The Matrix; I, Robot; Her, Ghost in the Shell (original anime); etc.]
The other interpretation posted is more like explaining the conservation of mass… it’s close, and accurate, but doesn’t answer the question. For other information, a singularity is also what scientists theorize is at the center of black holes, or rather, what they USED to think. There is still debate about whether the center of a black hole is a singularity that compiles all atoms sucked in until it reaches critical mass and supernovas like a star, or if the black hole reduces down to mathematical zero, but is still technically a single atom-wide hole that all the matter passes through as it’s spit outside the other side of the space-time plane.
ELI5 TL;DR – The Singularity is the fantasy of two units of matter physically occupying the same space-time; as well as the other more common reference to when you can back up your brain to a microsd card.
Latest Answers