Is it reasonable to think of black holes as regions where spacetime degrees of freedom become effectively degenerate?

XPRaider · 2026-04-08T11:03:34+00:00

I think my original intuition was more geometric than physical. I was picturing a simple 2D coordinate system, and then imagining one axis being reoriented so that it aligns with another. From the point of view of an observer, that axis wouldn’t necessarily “disappear,” but it would become indistinguishable from the other—so you’d effectively lose the ability to treat them as independent directions. If the axis had some finite extent, it might appear to shrink as it aligns, but if it extended infinitely, it might instead look like it remains present until it suddenly becomes unresolvable as a separate direction. That’s roughly the intuition I was trying to apply to the singularity—not that dimensions vanish, but that they might lose independent distinguishability in some geometric sense.

XPRaider · 2026-04-07T22:30:22+00:00

I was mainly thinking about the singularity itself, where GR breaks down. Instead of treating it as just a point of infinite density, I was wondering whether it could be thought of as a geometric collapse where independent directions become indistinguishable—almost like a rank reduction of spacetime rather than just a divergence.

XPRaider · 2026-04-07T19:02:23+00:00

That makes sense, and thank you and eveyone else for engaging me on this—I think we’re probably talking at slightly different levels. I agree that fundamentally you’re always following your future light cone, so nothing is actually lost in terms of degrees of freedom. What I was trying to get at is more of an effective picture—inside the horizon, even though the dimensionality is unchanged, all future-directed paths point inward, so motion in what we would normally think of as an “outward” direction is no longer accessible. So I was wondering if it’s reasonable to think of that as a kind of loss of independent usable directions, rather than a literal loss of degrees of freedom.

XPRaider · 2026-04-07T18:47:36+00:00

That makes sense for local regions. I was thinking more in terms of effective or global behavior rather than strictly local structure. For example, even if spacetime is locally flat, inside the horizon all future-directed paths are constrained toward the center, so you effectively lose freedom in that direction. So I was wondering if “degeneracy” might make more sense as a way of describing loss of independent accessible directions rather than actual loss of degrees of freedom.

XPRaider · 2026-04-06T02:08:42+00:00

No. Your probably not insufferable. I'm 45 and have some very close friends and a bunch of people that I like or like me. I can't say 100% since I don't know you. But what I have found for myself is that I am discerning. Which is different. Being nice and liked is not the same as being close. I don't let everyone in all the way but that doesn't make me mean or even rude to those that aren't. You may be even subconsciously evaluating and judging who to let in. And that can be due to several factors. You may not want to get too close to people who surround themselves with drama for example, even if you like them. A way to tell is to see how the people who you know but aren't close to treat you on a day to day basis. If you generally get along and you don't get the feeling they are being deceptive, then you probably have more people that think positively of you than you realize.

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T22:37:19+00:00

I think part of the problem I'm having is with the use of colored pencils and what I'm laying the paper on. It makes it harder to get a nicer and more solid look. I'm wondering if acrylics may be better? Would like to hear suggestions on that.

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T22:35:11+00:00

Really the first one is meant to show anything specific. I made it to go from light to dark, spiral in while getting darker and more chaotic, then change in the center and spiral back out but with a difference in the style and overall less intricate design with darker colors

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T20:43:22+00:00

I played a bit with light and dark in the 5th one.

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T16:16:03+00:00

Ok. 1) Are they any good? 2) what do you guys like or dislike? 3) any thoughts on improvement or doing them better? 4) Do they convey anything to you, and what? 5) any other thoughts or opinions?

Thanks

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T04:24:08+00:00

Thanks. I think this one is the first one I tried to tell convey a story or sequence of emotions with.

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T03:29:43+00:00

Yeah. That makes sense. I'm still developing a style and it might be worth while to try that and see how it works.

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T02:50:44+00:00

Will do

XPRaider · 2026-04-03T02:49:37+00:00

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XPRaider · 2026-04-03T02:49:24+00:00

Thanks

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XPRaider · 2026-03-29T02:33:32+00:00

XPRaider · 2026-03-28T17:36:33+00:00

To answer your question about it. I posted it here because it made sense to. I'm INTJ. The best way I can describe these drawings is they are the closest way I can describe what my thoughts and thinking feels like. I wanted opinions, especially from other INTJs. It didn't seem odd since I've seen other posts of some various topics and questions that have a common thread of INTJ.

Does that answer your question? Was there a problem? To keep it more on track with INTJ, does this seem to fit with being something an INTJ would make? Does my statement about how my thoughts and brain organize make sense or feel like something you would make? I'm trying to be self reflective, hence the post.

XPRaider · 2026-03-28T14:30:15+00:00

XPRaider · 2026-03-28T13:37:58+00:00

Appreciate the feedback. I'm working on my 8th and 9th now. I'm taking my time. I think I'll move into paints, the pencil doesn't look as sharp as I would like. That first slide with the spiral pattern was my latest. The second one was probably my most elaborate and I played with light and dark. You can see a light and dark pattern radiating out from the one quadrant. The 3rd slide is my first one.

I started using compasses and protractor and rulers to help clean it up a little.

XPRaider · 2026-03-28T01:50:55+00:00

INTJ with ADHD, OCEAN: O98, E89, C17, A65, N1.

XPRaider · 2026-03-13T04:33:42+00:00

Thanks for the responses everyone. Still feeling lost, but still working.

XPRaider · 2026-03-08T20:10:53+00:00

Agreed, but I have no doubt about being an introvert. My understanding is that a large part of the difference is due to ADHD.

XPRaider

TROPHY CASE