Frank J. Tipler: Difference between revisions

Frank Jennings Tipler
Frank Jennings Tipler
Born	February 1, 1947 (age 77); Andalusia, Alabama
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS); University of Maryland, College Park (PhD)
Occupation	Mathematical physicist
Employer	Tulane University
Known for	Omega point cosmology; Tipler cylinder; Hart–Tipler conjecture
Website	https://sse.tulane.edu/node/3550

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Frank Jennings Tipler (born February 1, 1947) is an American mathematical physicist and cosmologist, holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Mathematics and Physics at Tulane University.^[2] Tipler has written books and papers on the Omega Point based on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's religious ideas, which he claims is a mechanism for the resurrection of the dead. He is also known for his theories on the Tipler cylinder time machine. His work has attracted criticism, most notably from Quaker and systems theorist George Ellis, who has argued that his theories are largely pseudoscience.^[3]

Biography

Tipler was born in Andalusia, Alabama, to Frank Jennings Tipler Jr., a lawyer, and Anne Tipler, a homemaker.^[1] Tipler attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1965 to 1969, where he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in physics.^[2] In 1976 he completed his PhD with the University of Maryland.^[4]^[5] Tipler was hired in a series of postdoctoral research positions at three universities, with the final one being at the University of Texas, working under John Archibald Wheeler, Abraham Taub, Rainer K. Sachs, and Dennis W. Sciama.^[2] Tipler became an associate professor in mathematical physics in 1981 and a full professor in 1987 at Tulane University, where he has been a faculty member ever since.^[2]

The Omega Point cosmology

The Omega Point is a term Tipler uses to describe a cosmological state in the distant proper-time future of the universe.^[6] He claims that this point is required to exist due to the laws of physics. According to him, it is required, for the known laws of physics to be consistent, that intelligent life take over all matter in the universe and eventually force its collapse. During that collapse, the computational capacity of the universe diverges to infinity, and environments emulated with that computational capacity last for an infinite duration as the universe attains a cosmological singularity. This singularity is Tipler's Omega Point.^[7] With computational resources diverging to infinity, Tipler states that a society in the far future would be able to resurrect the dead by emulating alternative universes.^[8] Tipler identifies the Omega Point with God, since, in his view, the Omega Point has all the properties of God claimed by most traditional religions.^[8]^[9]

Tipler's argument of the Omega Point being required by the laws of physics is a more recent development that arose after the publication of his 1994 book The Physics of Immortality. In that book (and in papers he had published up to that time), Tipler had offered the Omega Point cosmology as a hypothesis, while still claiming to confine the analysis to the known laws of physics.^[10]

Tipler, along with co-author physicist John D. Barrow, defined the "final anthropic principle" (FAP) in their 1986 book The Anthropic Cosmological Principle as a generalization of the anthropic principle:

"Intelligent information-processing must come into existence in the Universe, and, once it comes into existence, will never die out."^[11]

One paraphrasing of Tipler's argument for FAP runs as follows: For the universe to physically exist, it must contain living observers. Our universe obviously exists. There must be an "Omega Point" that sustains life forever.^[12]

Tipler purportedly used Dyson's eternal intelligence hypothesis to back up his arguments.

Reception

Tipler's Omega Point theory has been highly controversial. In the past (1997), physicist David Deutsch defended the physics of Omega Point cosmology,^[13] although he was highly critical of Tipler's theological conclusions and what Deutsch stated were exaggerated claims (that caused other scientists and philosophers to reject his theory).^[14] However, Deutsch has since rejected the theory, referring to it as "refuted" and "ruled out by observation".^[15] Scholars are also skeptical of Tipler's argument that if an immortal entity with advanced technology exists in the future, such a being would necessarily resemble the Abrahamic God.^[16]^[17] Researcher Anders Sandberg pointed out that he believes that the Omega Point Theory has many flaws, including missing proofs of its claims.^[18]

Tipler's Omega Point ideas have received vigorous criticism by physicists and skeptics.^[16]^[19]^[20] Some critics say its arguments violate the Copernican principle, that it incorrectly applies the laws of probability, and that it is really a theology or metaphysics principle made to sound plausible to laypeople by using the esoteric language of physics. Martin Gardner dubbed the final anthropic principle the "completely ridiculous anthropic principle" (CRAP).^[21] Oxford-based philosopher Nick Bostrom writes that the final anthropic principle is "pure speculation" with no claim on any special methodological status, despite attempts to elevate it by calling it a "principle", but considers the Omega Point hypothesis to be an interesting philosophical hypothesis in its own right.^[22] Philosopher Rem B. Edwards called the theory "futuristic, pseudoscientific eschatology" that is "highly conjectural, unverified, and improbable".^[23] A review in The New York Times described Tipler's "final anthropic principle" argument as "rather circular".^[12]

George Ellis, writing in the journal Nature, described Tipler's book on the Omega Point as "a masterpiece of pseudoscience… the product of a fertile and creative imagination unhampered by the normal constraints of scientific and philosophical discipline" and Tipler himself as 'the ultimate reductionist', citing Tipler's argument that 'religion is now a part of science'.^[24] Michael Shermer devoted a chapter of Why People Believe Weird Things to enumerating what he thought to be flaws in Tipler's thesis.^[25] Physicist Sean M. Carroll states that Tipler's early work was constructive, but now he has become a "crackpot".^[26] In a review of Tipler's The Physics of Christianity, Lawrence Krauss described the book as the most "extreme example of uncritical and unsubstantiated arguments put into print by an intelligent professional scientist".^[27]

John Polkinghorne described Tipler as having "extreme reductionism" and building a "cosmic tower of Babel". He also mentioned that Tipler's book "reads like the highest class of science fiction". Polkinghorne himself asserted that the hope of resurrection "lies not in the curiosity or calculation of a cosmic computer, but in the personal God who cares individually for each of His human creatures".^[28]

Books

Tipler, Frank J.; Barrow, John D. (1986). The Anthropic Cosmological Principle. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-851949-2.
Tipler, Frank J. (1994). The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0385467982.
Tipler, Frank J. (2007). The Physics of Christianity. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-51424-8.

References

^ ^a ^b Rooney, Terrie M., ed. (1997). Contemporary Authors. Vol. 157. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-7876-1183-5.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tipler, Frank J (2007). "Biography". Tulane University.
^ Ellis, George Francis Rayner (1994). "Piety in the Sky". Nature. 371 (6493): 115. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..115E. doi:10.1038/371115a0. S2CID 36282720.
^ Tipler 1976.
^ "Dissertation Abstracts International". 37 (6): B2923. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ Through the Wormhole — Morgan Freeman with Frank Tipler, 12 January 2019, retrieved 2023-01-06
^ Tipler et al. 2007.
^ ^a ^b Tipler 1989.
^ Tipler 1997, p. 560
^ Tipler, Frank J (June 1986), "Cosmological Limits on Computation", International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 25 (6): 617–61, Bibcode:1986IJTP...25..617T, doi:10.1007/BF00670475, S2CID 59578961 (first paper on the Omega Point Theory).
^ Barrow, John D.; Tipler, Frank J. (1986). The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-282147-8. LCCN 87028148.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, George (1994). "The Odds on God". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
^ Deutsch, David (1997). "The Ends of the Universe". The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications. London: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-7139-9061-4.
^ Mackey, James Patrick (2000). The critique of theological reason. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77293-8.
^ Deutsch, David (2011). The Beginning of Infinity. Penguin Books. pp. 450–451.
^ ^a ^b Gardner, Martin (March–April 2008). "The Strange Case of Frank Jennings Tipler". Book Review, "The Physics of Christianity". The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
^ Shermer, Michael (2003). How we believe: science, skepticism, and the search for God. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-7479-6.
^ Sandberg, Anders, My Thoughts and Comments on the Omega Point Theory of Frank J. Tipler, SE: Aleph.
^ Polkinghorne, John (1995). "I am the Alpha and the Omega Point". New Scientist (1963): 41.
^ Baker, Richard G (1995). "Fossils Worth Studying". Science. 267 (5200): 1043–1044. Bibcode:1995Sci...267.1043E. doi:10.1126/science.267.5200.1043. PMID 17811443. S2CID 6227574.
^ Gardner, M., "WAP, SAP, PAP, and FAP", The New York Review of Books 23, No. 8 (May 8, 1986): 22–25.
^ Bostrom, Nick (2002). Anthropic bias: observation selection effects in science and philosophy. Psychology Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-415-93858-7. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
^ Edwards, Rem Blanchard (2001). What caused the big bang?. Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-1407-7. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
^ Ellis, George (1994). "Piety in the sky" (PDF). Nature. 371 (6493): 115. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..115E. doi:10.1038/371115a0. S2CID 36282720.
^ Shermer, Michael (1997). Why People Believe Weird Things. W. H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-3090-3.
^ Carroll, Sean (Jan 5, 2009), "The Varieties of Crackpot Experience", Cosmic Variance (blog), Discover Magazine, archived from the original on September 9, 2016, retrieved March 16, 2011.
^ Krauss, Lawrence (May 12, 2007), "More Dangerous Than Nonsense" (PDF), New Scientist, 194 (2603): 53, doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(07)61199-3, archived from the original (PDF) on November 1, 2011.
^ Polkinghorne, John. "I am the Alpha and the Omega Point". New Scientist. Retrieved 2020-08-14.

Bibliography

Tipler, Frank J (1976), Causality Violation in General Relativity (PhD thesis), University of Maryland, Bibcode:1976PhDT........61T.
——— (June 1989), "The Omega Point as Eschaton: Answers to Pannenberg's Questions for Scientists", Zygon, 24 (2): 217–53, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9744.1989.tb01112.x, S2CID 170514707.
——— (1997) [1994], The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead, New York: Doubleday, ISBN 978-0-385-46798-8.
———; Graber, Jessica; McGinley, Matthew; Nichols-Barrer, Joshua; Staecker, Christopher (August 2007) [March 20, 2000], "Closed Universes With Black Holes But No Event Horizons As a Solution to the Black Hole Information Problem", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 379 (2): 629–40, arXiv:gr-qc/0003082, Bibcode:2007MNRAS.379..629T, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11895.x, S2CID 17109604.

External links

[Rooney1997-1] Rooney, Terrie M., ed. (1997). Contemporary Authors. Vol. 157. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale. p. 407. ISBN 978-0-7876-1183-5.

[TiplerBiography-2] Tipler, Frank J (2007). "Biography". Tulane University.

[ellis1994a-3] Ellis, George Francis Rayner (1994). "Piety in the Sky". Nature. 371 (6493): 115. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..115E. doi:10.1038/371115a0. S2CID 36282720.

[FOOTNOTETipler1976-4] Tipler 1976.

[5] "Dissertation Abstracts International". 37 (6): B2923. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[6] Through the Wormhole — Morgan Freeman with Frank Tipler, 12 January 2019, retrieved 2023-01-06

[Tipler2007-7] Tipler et al. 2007.

[FOOTNOTETipler1989-8] Tipler 1989.

[Tipler1997-9] Tipler 1997, p. 560

[Tipler1986-10] Tipler, Frank J (June 1986), "Cosmological Limits on Computation", International Journal of Theoretical Physics, 25 (6): 617–61, Bibcode:1986IJTP...25..617T, doi:10.1007/BF00670475, S2CID 59578961 (first paper on the Omega Point Theory).

[11] Barrow, John D.; Tipler, Frank J. (1986). The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-282147-8. LCCN 87028148.

[nytimes-12] Johnson, George (1994). "The Odds on God". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2018.

[Deutsch1997-13] Deutsch, David (1997). "The Ends of the Universe". The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications. London: Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0-7139-9061-4.

[Mackey-14] Mackey, James Patrick (2000). The critique of theological reason. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77293-8.

[15] Deutsch, David (2011). The Beginning of Infinity. Penguin Books. pp. 450–451.

[CSI-16] Gardner, Martin (March–April 2008). "The Strange Case of Frank Jennings Tipler". Book Review, "The Physics of Christianity". The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Retrieved 29 June 2010.

[Shermer2-17] Shermer, Michael (2003). How we believe: science, skepticism, and the search for God. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-7479-6.

[Anders-18] Sandberg, Anders, My Thoughts and Comments on the Omega Point Theory of Frank J. Tipler, SE: Aleph.

[19] Polkinghorne, John (1995). "I am the Alpha and the Omega Point". New Scientist (1963): 41.

[20] Baker, Richard G (1995). "Fossils Worth Studying". Science. 267 (5200): 1043–1044. Bibcode:1995Sci...267.1043E. doi:10.1126/science.267.5200.1043. PMID 17811443. S2CID 6227574.

[21] Gardner, M., "WAP, SAP, PAP, and FAP", The New York Review of Books 23, No. 8 (May 8, 1986): 22–25.

[22] Bostrom, Nick (2002). Anthropic bias: observation selection effects in science and philosophy. Psychology Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-415-93858-7. Retrieved March 16, 2011.

[23] Edwards, Rem Blanchard (2001). What caused the big bang?. Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-1407-7. Retrieved March 17, 2011.

[ellis1994b-24] Ellis, George (1994). "Piety in the sky" (PDF). Nature. 371 (6493): 115. Bibcode:1994Natur.371..115E. doi:10.1038/371115a0. S2CID 36282720.

[Shermer-25] Shermer, Michael (1997). Why People Believe Weird Things. W. H. Freeman. ISBN 978-0-7167-3090-3.

[26] Carroll, Sean (Jan 5, 2009), "The Varieties of Crackpot Experience", Cosmic Variance (blog), Discover Magazine, archived from the original on September 9, 2016, retrieved March 16, 2011.

[27] Krauss, Lawrence (May 12, 2007), "More Dangerous Than Nonsense" (PDF), New Scientist, 194 (2603): 53, doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(07)61199-3, archived from the original (PDF) on November 1, 2011.

[28] Polkinghorne, John. "I am the Alpha and the Omega Point". New Scientist. Retrieved 2020-08-14.

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@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 |nationality = American
 |other_names =
-|known_for = [[Omega Point]] Theory, [[Tipler cylinder]]
+|known_for = [[Omega_Point#The_Omega_Point_cosmology|Omega point cosmology]]<br>[[Tipler cylinder]]<br>[[Hart–Tipler conjecture]]
 |education =
 |alma_mater = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] <small>([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])</small><br>[[University of Maryland, College Park]] <small>([[PhD]])</small>
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 }}
-'''Frank Jennings Tipler''' (born February 1, 1947) is an American mathematical physicist and [[cosmologist]], holding a joint appointment in the Departments of [[Mathematics]] and [[Physics]] at [[Tulane University]].<ref name = "TiplerBiography">{{cite web | first = Frank J | last = Tipler |date=2007 |url= http://math.tulane.edu/~tipler/biography.htm | title = Biography | publisher = Tulane University}}</ref> Tipler has written books and papers on the [[Omega Point]] based on [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]]'s religious ideas, which he claims is a mechanism for the [[resurrection of the dead]]. He is also known for his theories on the [[Tipler cylinder]] time machine.  His work has attracted criticism, most notably from [[Quaker]] and [[systems theorist]] [[George F. R. Ellis|George Ellis]] who has argued that his theories are largely [[pseudoscience]].<ref name = "ellis1994a">{{cite journal |author-link = George Francis Rayner Ellis | first = George Francis Rayner | last = Ellis |date = 1994 | title = Piety in the Sky | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]  |page = 115 | issue = 6493 | volume = 371 | bibcode = 1994Natur.371..115E |doi = 10.1038/371115a0| s2cid = 36282720 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
+'''Frank Jennings Tipler''' (born February 1, 1947) is an American [[Mathematical physics|mathematical physicist]] and [[cosmologist]], holding a joint appointment in the Departments of [[Mathematics]] and [[Physics]] at [[Tulane University]].<ref name = "TiplerBiography">{{cite web | first = Frank J | last = Tipler |date=2007 |url= http://math.tulane.edu/~tipler/biography.htm | title = Biography | publisher = Tulane University}}</ref> Tipler has written books and papers on the [[Omega Point]] based on [[Pierre Teilhard de Chardin]]'s religious ideas, which he claims is a mechanism for the [[resurrection of the dead]]. He is also known for his theories on the [[Tipler cylinder]] time machine.  His work has attracted criticism, most notably from [[Quaker]] and [[systems theorist]] [[George F. R. Ellis|George Ellis]], who has argued that his theories are largely [[pseudoscience]].<ref name = "ellis1994a">{{cite journal |author-link = George Francis Rayner Ellis | first = George Francis Rayner | last = Ellis |date = 1994 | title = Piety in the Sky | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]  |page = 115 | issue = 6493 | volume = 371 | bibcode = 1994Natur.371..115E |doi = 10.1038/371115a0| s2cid = 36282720 | doi-access = free }}</ref>
 ==Biography==
 Tipler was born in [[Andalusia, Alabama]], to Frank Jennings Tipler Jr., a lawyer, and Anne Tipler, a homemaker.<ref name = "Rooney1997">{{cite book | editor-first =Terrie M. | editor-last =Rooney | date =1997 | title =Contemporary Authors | volume =157 | publisher =[[Thomson Gale]] | location =Farmington Hills, MI | isbn =978-0-7876-1183-5 | page =[https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth157peac/page/407 407] | url =https://archive.org/details/contemporaryauth157peac/page/407 }}</ref> Tipler attended the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] from 1965 to 1969, where he completed a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in physics.<ref name ="TiplerBiography" /> In 1976 he completed his PhD with the [[University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland]].{{Sfn | Tipler | 1976}}<ref>
-{{Cite journal | title = Dissertation Abstracts International | volume = 37 | issue = 6 | page = B2923}}</ref> Tipler was hired in a series of [[postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral research]] positions at three universities, with the final one being at the [[University of Texas]], working under [[John Archibald Wheeler]], [[Abraham Haskel Taub|Abraham Taub]], [[Rainer K. Sachs]], and [[Dennis W. Sciama]].<ref name = "TiplerBiography" /> Tipler became an associate professor in [[mathematical physics]] in 1981 and a full professor in 1987 at Tulane University, where he has been a faculty member ever since.<ref name = "TiplerBiography" />
+{{Cite journal | title = Dissertation Abstracts International | volume = 37 | issue = 6 | page = B2923}}</ref> Tipler was hired in a series of [[postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral research]] positions at three universities, with the final one being at the [[University of Texas]], working under [[John Archibald Wheeler]], [[Abraham H. Taub|Abraham Taub]], [[Rainer K. Sachs]], and [[Dennis W. Sciama]].<ref name = "TiplerBiography" /> Tipler became an associate professor in [[mathematical physics]] in 1981 and a full professor in 1987 at Tulane University, where he has been a faculty member ever since.<ref name = "TiplerBiography" />
 == <span id="The Omega Point">The Omega Point cosmology</span> ==
-The ''[[Omega Point]]'' is a term Tipler uses to describe a [[Physical cosmology|cosmological]] state in the distant [[Proper time|proper-time]] future of the [[universe]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Through the Wormhole — Morgan Freeman with Frank Tipler |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKzJqmUeHok |language=en |access-date=2023-01-06}}</ref> He claims that this point is required to exist due to the [[laws of physics]].  According to him, it is required, for the known laws of physics to be consistent, that intelligent life take over all matter in the universe and eventually force its collapse. During that collapse, the computational capacity of the universe diverges to infinity, and environments [[Computer simulation|emulated]] with that computational capacity last for an [[Immortality|infinite duration]] as the universe attains a [[Gravitational singularity|cosmological singularity]]. This singularity is Tipler's Omega Point.<ref name="Tipler2007">{{Harvnb | Tipler | Graber | McGinley | Nichols-Barrer | 2007}}.</ref> With computational resources diverging to infinity, Tipler states that a society in the far future would be able to resurrect the dead by emulating [[Many-worlds interpretation|alternative universes]].{{Sfn | Tipler | 1989}}  Tipler identifies the Omega Point with God, since, in his view, the Omega Point has all the properties of God claimed by most traditional religions.{{Sfn | Tipler | 1989}}<ref name = "Tipler1997">{{Harvnb | Tipler |  1997 | p = 560}}</ref>
+The ''[[Omega Point]]'' is a term Tipler uses to describe a [[Physical cosmology|cosmological]] state in the distant [[Proper time|proper-time]] future of the [[universe]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Through the Wormhole — Morgan Freeman with Frank Tipler | date=12 January 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKzJqmUeHok |language=en |access-date=2023-01-06}}</ref> He claims that this point is required to exist due to the [[laws of physics]].  According to him, it is required, for the known laws of physics to be consistent, that intelligent life take over all matter in the universe and eventually force its collapse. During that collapse, the computational capacity of the universe diverges to infinity, and environments [[Computer simulation|emulated]] with that computational capacity last for an [[Immortality|infinite duration]] as the universe attains a [[Gravitational singularity|cosmological singularity]]. This singularity is Tipler's Omega Point.<ref name="Tipler2007">{{Harvnb | Tipler | Graber | McGinley | Nichols-Barrer | 2007}}.</ref> With computational resources diverging to infinity, Tipler states that a society in the far future would be able to resurrect the dead by emulating [[Many-worlds interpretation|alternative universes]].{{Sfn | Tipler | 1989}}  Tipler identifies the Omega Point with God, since, in his view, the Omega Point has all the properties of God claimed by most traditional religions.{{Sfn | Tipler | 1989}}<ref name = "Tipler1997">{{Harvnb | Tipler |  1997 | p = 560}}</ref>
 Tipler's argument of the Omega Point being required by the laws of physics is a more recent development that arose after the publication of his 1994 book ''The Physics of Immortality''. In that book (and in papers he had published up to that time), Tipler had offered the Omega Point cosmology as a [[hypothesis]], while still claiming to confine the analysis to the known laws of physics.<ref name ="Tipler1986">{{Citation | first = Frank J | last = Tipler | title = Cosmological Limits on Computation | journal = [[International Journal of Theoretical Physics]] | volume = 25 | number = 6 | date = June 1986 | pages = 617–61 | doi = 10.1007/BF00670475 | bibcode = 1986IJTP...25..617T| s2cid = 59578961 }} (first paper on the Omega Point Theory).</ref>
@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 {{Blockquote | "Intelligent information-processing must come into existence in the Universe, and, once it comes into existence, will never die out."<ref>{{BarrowTipler1986}}</ref>}}
-One paraphrasing of Tipler's argument for FAP runs as follows: For the universe to physically exist, it must contain living observers. Our universe obviously exists. There must be an "Omega Point" that sustains life forever.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=George|title=The Odds on God|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/books/the-odds-on-god.html|access-date=9 April 2018|date=1994|language=en}}</ref>
+One paraphrasing of Tipler's argument for FAP runs as follows: For the universe to physically exist, it must contain living observers. Our universe obviously exists. There must be an "Omega Point" that sustains life forever.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=George|title=The Odds on God|work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/books/the-odds-on-god.html|access-date=9 April 2018|date=1994|language=en}}</ref>
 Tipler purportedly used [[Dyson's eternal intelligence#Legacy|Dyson's eternal intelligence hypothesis]] to back up his arguments.
 ===Reception===
-Tipler's Omega Point theory has been highly controversial. In the past (1997), physicist [[David Deutsch]] defended the physics of Omega Point cosmology,<ref name = "Deutsch1997">{{cite book | first = David | last = Deutsch |date = 1997 |title= The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications |location = London | publisher = [[Penguin Press]] |isbn=978-0-7139-9061-4 | chapter = The Ends of the Universe| title-link = The Fabric of Reality }}</ref> although he was highly critical of Tipler's theological conclusions and what Deutsch stated were exaggerated claims (that caused other scientists and philosophers to reject his theory).<ref name = "Mackey">{{cite book | last = Mackey | first = James Patrick | date = 2000 |title= The critique of theological reason |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jNZy1docFVsC&pg=PA128 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-77293-8}}</ref> However, Deutsch has since rejected the theory, referring to it as "refuted" and "ruled out by observation".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deutsch |first=David |title=The Beginning of Infinity |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2011 |pages=450–451}}</ref> Scholars are also skeptical of Tipler's argument that if an immortal entity with advanced technology exists in the future, such a being would necessarily resemble the Judeo-Christian God.<ref name = "CSI" /><ref name = "Shermer2">{{cite book | last = Shermer | first = Michael |title=How we believe: science, skepticism, and the search for God | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Im4Yl8qVuQEC&pg=PA107 |date=2003 | publisher = Macmillan |isbn = 978-0-8050-7479-6}}</ref> Researcher [[Anders Sandberg]] pointed out that he believes that the Omega Point Theory has many flaws, including missing proofs of its claims.<ref name= "Anders">{{Citation | first = Anders | last = Sandberg | publisher = Aleph | place = SE | url = https://www.aleph.se/Trans/Global/Omega/tipler_page.html | title = My Thoughts and Comments on the Omega Point Theory of Frank J. Tipler}}.</ref>
+Tipler's Omega Point theory has been highly controversial. In the past (1997), physicist [[David Deutsch]] defended the physics of Omega Point cosmology,<ref name = "Deutsch1997">{{cite book | first = David | last = Deutsch |date = 1997 |title= The Fabric of Reality: The Science of Parallel Universes—and Its Implications |location = London | publisher = [[Penguin Press]] |isbn=978-0-7139-9061-4 | chapter = The Ends of the Universe| title-link = The Fabric of Reality }}</ref> although he was highly critical of Tipler's theological conclusions and what Deutsch stated were exaggerated claims (that caused other scientists and philosophers to reject his theory).<ref name = "Mackey">{{cite book | last = Mackey | first = James Patrick | date = 2000 |title= The critique of theological reason |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jNZy1docFVsC&pg=PA128 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-77293-8}}</ref> However, Deutsch has since rejected the theory, referring to it as "refuted" and "ruled out by observation".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deutsch |first=David |title=The Beginning of Infinity |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2011 |pages=450–451}}</ref> Scholars are also skeptical of Tipler's argument that if an immortal entity with advanced technology exists in the future, such a being would necessarily resemble the [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] God.<ref name = "CSI" /><ref name = "Shermer2">{{cite book | last = Shermer | first = Michael |title=How we believe: science, skepticism, and the search for God | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Im4Yl8qVuQEC&pg=PA107 |date=2003 | publisher = Macmillan |isbn = 978-0-8050-7479-6}}</ref> Researcher [[Anders Sandberg]] pointed out that he believes that the Omega Point Theory has many flaws, including missing proofs of its claims.<ref name= "Anders">{{Citation | first = Anders | last = Sandberg | publisher = Aleph | place = SE | url = https://www.aleph.se/Trans/Global/Omega/tipler_page.html | title = My Thoughts and Comments on the Omega Point Theory of Frank J. Tipler}}.</ref>
 Tipler's Omega Point ideas have received vigorous criticism by physicists and skeptics.<ref name = "CSI">{{cite web | url = http://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_strange_case_of_frank_jennings_tipler | title =The Strange Case of Frank Jennings Tipler | last = Gardner | first = Martin | date = March–April 2008 |work=Book Review, "The Physics of Christianity" | publisher = The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry | access-date = 29 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = John | last = Polkinghorne |title= I am the Alpha and the Omega Point | url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14519634.400-i-am-the-alpha-and-the-omega-point.html | journal = [[New Scientist]] | date = 1995 | issue =1963 | page = 41}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title = Fossils Worth Studying | first = Richard G | last = Baker | journal = [[Science (journal)|Science]] | date = 1995 |volume= 267 | issue = 5200 | pages = 1043–1044 |doi= 10.1126/science.267.5200.1043 | pmid = 17811443 | bibcode = 1995Sci...267.1043E | s2cid = 6227574 }}</ref> Some critics say its arguments violate the [[Copernican principle]], that it incorrectly applies the laws of [[probability]], and that it is really a theology or metaphysics principle made to sound plausible to laypeople by using the esoteric language of physics. [[Martin Gardner]] dubbed the final anthropic principle the "completely ridiculous anthropic principle" (CRAP).<ref>[[Martin Gardner|Gardner, M.]], "WAP, SAP, PAP, and FAP", ''The New York Review of Books 23'', No.&nbsp;8 (May 8, 1986): 22–25.</ref> Oxford-based philosopher [[Nick Bostrom]] writes that the final anthropic principle is "pure speculation" with no claim on any special methodological status, despite attempts to elevate it by calling it a "principle", but considers the Omega Point hypothesis to be an interesting philosophical hypothesis in its own right.<ref>{{cite book | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=TZ5FLwnCTMAC&pg=PA50 | title = Anthropic bias: observation selection effects in science and philosophy |page=50 | access-date= March 16, 2011 | last = Bostrom | first = Nick | date =2002 | publisher =Psychology Press | isbn = 978-0-415-93858-7}}</ref> Philosopher Rem B.&nbsp;Edwards called the theory "futuristic, pseudoscientific eschatology" that is "highly conjectural, unverified, and improbable".<ref>{{cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3y5xm4rUf58C&pg=PA203 | title= What caused the big bang? | access-date =March 17, 2011 | last =Edwards | first = Rem Blanchard | date =2001 | publisher=Rodopi | isbn = 978-90-420-1407-7}}</ref> A review in ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Tipler's "final anthropic principle" argument as "rather circular".<ref name=nytimes/>
-[[George Francis Rayner Ellis|George Ellis]], writing in the journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', described Tipler's book on the Omega Point as "a masterpiece of pseudoscience… the product of a fertile and creative imagination unhampered by the normal constraints of scientific and philosophical discipline" and Tipler himself as 'the ultimate reductionist', citing Tipler's argument that 'religion is now a part of science'.<ref name = "ellis1994b">{{cite journal | author-link = George Francis Rayner Ellis | first = George | last =  Ellis | title =Piety in the sky |journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | date = 1994 | page = 115 |volume= 371 | issue = 6493 | url = https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v371/n6493/pdf/371115a0.pdf | doi = 10.1038/371115a0 | bibcode = 1994Natur.371..115E | s2cid = 36282720 }}</ref> [[Michael Shermer]] devoted a chapter of ''[[Why People Believe Weird Things]]'' to enumerating what he thought to be flaws in Tipler's thesis.<ref name = "Shermer">{{cite book | last= Shermer | first = Michael | title = Why People Believe Weird Things | url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780965594875 | url-access= registration |date=1997 |publisher= W.&nbsp;H. Freeman | isbn = 978-0-7167-3090-3}}</ref> Physicist [[Sean M.&nbsp;Carroll]] states that Tipler's early work was constructive, but now he has become a "crackpot".<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/01/05/the-varieties-of-crackpot-experience/ | contribution = The Varieties of Crackpot Experience | first = Sean | last = Carroll | date = Jan 5, 2009 | publisher = Discover Magazine | title = Cosmic Variance | type = blog}}.</ref> In a review of Tipler's ''The Physics of Christianity'', [[Lawrence Krauss]] described the book as the most "extreme example of uncritical and unsubstantiated arguments put into print by an intelligent professional scientist".<ref>{{Citation | first = Lawrence | last = Krauss | title = More Dangerous Than Nonsense | journal = New Scientist | date = May 12, 2007 | volume = 194 | issue = 2603 | page = 53 | doi = 10.1016/S0262-4079(07)61199-3 | url = http://genesis1.asu.edu/Tiplerreview.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111101161611/http://genesis1.asu.edu/Tiplerreview.pdf | archive-date = November 1, 2011 }}.</ref>
+[[George Francis Rayner Ellis|George Ellis]], writing in the journal ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'', described Tipler's book on the Omega Point as "a masterpiece of pseudoscience… the product of a fertile and creative imagination unhampered by the normal constraints of scientific and philosophical discipline" and Tipler himself as 'the ultimate reductionist', citing Tipler's argument that 'religion is now a part of science'.<ref name = "ellis1994b">{{cite journal | author-link = George Francis Rayner Ellis | first = George | last =  Ellis | title =Piety in the sky |journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | date = 1994 | page = 115 |volume= 371 | issue = 6493 | url = https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v371/n6493/pdf/371115a0.pdf | doi = 10.1038/371115a0 | bibcode = 1994Natur.371..115E | s2cid = 36282720 }}</ref> [[Michael Shermer]] devoted a chapter of ''[[Why People Believe Weird Things]]'' to enumerating what he thought to be flaws in Tipler's thesis.<ref name = "Shermer">{{cite book | last= Shermer | first = Michael | title = Why People Believe Weird Things | url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780965594875 | url-access= registration |date=1997 |publisher= W.&nbsp;H. Freeman | isbn = 978-0-7167-3090-3}}</ref> Physicist [[Sean M.&nbsp;Carroll]] states that Tipler's early work was constructive, but now he has become a "crackpot".<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/01/05/the-varieties-of-crackpot-experience/ | contribution = The Varieties of Crackpot Experience | first = Sean | last = Carroll | date = Jan 5, 2009 | publisher = Discover Magazine | title = Cosmic Variance | type = blog | access-date = March 16, 2011 | archive-date = September 9, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160909151332/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/01/05/the-varieties-of-crackpot-experience/ | url-status = dead }}.</ref> In a review of Tipler's ''The Physics of Christianity'', [[Lawrence Krauss]] described the book as the most "extreme example of uncritical and unsubstantiated arguments put into print by an intelligent professional scientist".<ref>{{Citation | first = Lawrence | last = Krauss | title = More Dangerous Than Nonsense | journal = New Scientist | date = May 12, 2007 | volume = 194 | issue = 2603 | page = 53 | doi = 10.1016/S0262-4079(07)61199-3 | url = http://genesis1.asu.edu/Tiplerreview.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111101161611/http://genesis1.asu.edu/Tiplerreview.pdf | archive-date = November 1, 2011 }}.</ref>
 [[John Polkinghorne]] described Tipler as having "extreme [[reductionism]]" and building a "cosmic [[tower of Babel]]". He also mentioned that Tipler's book "reads like the highest class of science fiction". Polkinghorne himself asserted that the hope of resurrection "lies not in the curiosity or calculation of a cosmic computer, but in the personal God who cares individually for each of His human creatures".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Polkinghorne |first=John |title=I am the Alpha and the Omega Point |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14519634-400-i-am-the-alpha-and-the-omega-point/ |access-date=2020-08-14 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref>
@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 |author2-link = John D. Barrow
  }}
-* {{cite book |author-mask = 3
+* {{cite book
- |first       = Frank J.
+ |first1       = Frank J.
- |last        = Tipler
+ |last1        = Tipler
  |date        = 1994
  |title       = The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
  |isbn        = 0385467982
 }}
 * {{cite book
- |author-mask = 3
+ | first1 = Frank J.
- | first = Frank J.
+ | last1 = Tipler
- | last = Tipler
+ |date  =  2007
+ |title  = The Physics of Christianity
- |date=2007
+ |location = New York
- |title=The Physics of Christianity
- |location=New York |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
+ |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]
  |isbn=978-0-385-51424-8
 }}
 ==See also==
-*[[Quantum immortality]]
+* [[Black dwarf]]
+* [[Digital physics]]
+* [[Idealism]]
+* [[Quantum immortality]]
 * [[Ultimate fate of the universe]]
-* [[Idealism]]
-* [[Digital physics]]
 ==References==
@@ Line 106: / Line 107: @@
 * {{Citation | first = Frank J | last = Tipler | s2cid = 170514707 | author-mask = 3 | title = The Omega Point as ''Eschaton'': Answers to Pannenberg's Questions for Scientists | journal = [[Zygon (journal)|Zygon]] | volume = 24 | issue = 2 | date = June 1989 | pages = 217–53 | doi = 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1989.tb01112.x}}.
 * {{Citation | first = Frank J | last = Tipler | title = The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead | author-mask = 3 | date = 1997 | orig-year = 1994 | publisher = Doubleday | location = New York | isbn = 978-0-385-46798-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/physicsofimmorta00fran }}.
-* {{Citation | author1-mask = 3 | first1 = Frank J | last1 = Tipler | first2 = Jessica | last2 = Graber | first3 =  Matthew | last3 = McGinley | first4 = Joshua | last4 = Nichols-Barrer | first5 = Christopher | last5 = Staecker | title = Closed Universes With Black Holes But No Event Horizons As a Solution to the Black Hole Information Problem | orig-year = March 20, 2000 | journal = [[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] | volume = 379 | issue = 2 | date = August 2007 | pages = 629–40 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11895.x | bibcode = 2007MNRAS.379..629T|arxiv = gr-qc/0003082 | s2cid = 17109604 }}.
+* {{Citation | author1-mask = 3 | first1 = Frank J | last1 = Tipler | first2 = Jessica | last2 = Graber | first3 =  Matthew | last3 = McGinley | first4 = Joshua | last4 = Nichols-Barrer | first5 = Christopher | last5 = Staecker | title = Closed Universes With Black Holes But No Event Horizons As a Solution to the Black Hole Information Problem | orig-year = March 20, 2000 | journal = [[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] | volume = 379 | issue = 2 | date = August 2007 | pages = 629–40 | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.11895.x | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2007MNRAS.379..629T|arxiv = gr-qc/0003082 | s2cid = 17109604 }}.
 ==External links==
+{{wikiquote}}
 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607132741/http://www.iscid.org/frank-tipler.php International Society for Complexity Information and Design page]
 * [https://sse.tulane.edu/math/faculty/tipler Faculty page for Frank J. Tipler]
@@ Line 124: / Line 126: @@
 [[Category:American cosmologists]]
 [[Category:Tulane University faculty]]
-[[Category:MIT Department of Physics alumni]]
+[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni]]
 [[Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni]]
 [[Category:Writers from Alabama]]

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