BETA
Chapter 1
The mountain spark of Nietzsche's big idea
Chapter 2
Ancient loops around the global past
Chapter 3
The ultimate psychological test of your life
Chapter 4
Modern echoes in pop culture and science
YOUR GOAL
Master of Nietzsche and the eternal recurrence
Ch 4 · Modern echoes in pop culture and science
gertrude Video games naturally replicate the experience of eternal recurrence through gameplay loops and save states.
gertrude Some modern physicists propose cosmological models where the universe undergoes an infinite series of big bangs and crunches.
Fun Fact
The math of loops: In 1890, mathematician Henri Poincaré proved the Recurrence Theorem, showing that certain physical systems will eventually return incredibly close to their starting state.
Glossary
eternal recurrence (noun)
A philosophical concept proposing that the universe and all events within it repeat endlessly in an infinite loop. The 2014 television drama True Detective famously popularized this concept, describing time as a flat circle.
A philosophical concept proposing that the universe and all events within it repeat endlessly in an infinite loop. The 2014 television drama True Detective famously popularized this concept, describing time as a flat circle.
Quiz
What is the name of the protagonist played by Bill Murray who gets trapped in a time loop in the film Groundhog Day?
Quiz
Which 1993 comedy film popularized the concept of a character trapped in a daily time loop until he improves himself?
Quiz
What scientific theory suggests our universe was created from the collapse of a previous universe in a repeating cycle?
Quiz
What is the name of the 1890 mathematical theorem proving that certain systems will eventually return to their starting state?
Quiz
Which Nobel Prize-winning physicist proposed 'Conformal Cyclic Cosmology', the theory that the universe goes through infinite repeating aeons?
Quiz
Which 2019 space-exploration video game traps the player in a 22-minute solar system time loop?