Its basically like a cloud storage, and your local storage (your brain) gets wiped every loop. You can edit this file any time you want using your brain (you can be tied up and it still works). 1024 Bytes is all you get. Yes you read that right: BYTES, not KB, MB, or GB: 1024 BYTES
Lets just say, for this example: The loop is 7 days form a Monday 6 AM to the next Monday 5:59 AM.
How do you best use these 1024 Bytes to your advantage?
How would your strategy be different if every human on Earth also gets the same 1024 Bytes “memory buffer”?
Seems like storage outside your brain is stable, so you can use your 1 kb of brain persistent storage to store a URL and credentials.
Well, that 1KB is special and is immune to time travel effects, everything else gets reset.
You can link to a website that you create after the loop begun, but when the loop resets, the link goes to what the webpage looked like at the beginning of the loop, so either a 404 Error, or if you already had the page up befote the loop, its just gets reverted to what it looked right at the start of the time loop.
So if between weeks you don’t retain any skills and the entire world resets, then the sum total of your existence is what you experience in a week and what you can store in 1 kB of data. Unlike groundhog day, where the protagonist knows and can learn.
The 1 kB would be the only thing that indicates that something is going on.
The irony is that your own memory of the 1 kB existing and how to write to it would also need to be retained.
(I’m a software developer, it’s all about the edge cases.)
My initial response with the expanded parameters, I’d probably store a GPS location and a timestamp. How far did you get in a week, assuming that your starting location also resets.
I mean, you could store a location finder in the Library of Babel.
You can convert any 3200 character into a location on an imaginary library, site is here https://libraryofbabel.info/
Example:
Hexagon: goynbkiuqamnqrrbo2h2xt1xpg9j802eacyyur5zua3a
Wall 4 Shelf 5 Volume 17 Page 48
The text says:
you already tried assassinating the queen of england last week, but your attempt failed when you stepped on a banana peel just as you pulled your firearm, and your head smashed into the pavement and you typed this text just as you bleeded out
You can then put multiple locations into another set of 3200.
Like you have have multiple of:
"Hexagon: goynbkiuqamnqrrbo2h2xt1xpg9j802eacyyur5zua3a
Wall 4 Shelf 5 Volume 17 Page 48"
Type of text all crammed into another location.
Then you have one string of text telling you to go to a page, which has an index of every other location you need to go to. You can cram so much information in there. Honestly, I think you can do this recursively and fit like nearly unlimited info in there, ye know what I mean?
https://libraryofbabel.info/ Very cool concept btw.
Honestly I was not able to retrieve information by those coordinates (hexagon number, wall, shelf, volume, page). Gonna play around more with it - maybe I didn’t get something.
If it’s just me; I’d increment it by one at the start of each loop. That is, I’d increment the underlying 8192-bit number that the 1024 bytes represents. On some loops this will form a coherent ASCII text, on most it’ll be gibberish. But I have infinite retries and it doesn’t bother me how many loops I go through. So there will be 2^8192 “initial states” it’s in, or about 10^2467 different states in base ten. If anything is going to get me out of that time loop then I’ll hit on it eventually.
If I see that the integer is maxed out, I think I won’t overflow it back to 0 again. The whole point of this is to avoid trying exactly the same thing over and over again indefinitely. I think I’d have to resort to a leap of faith - that quantum effects are still random. I’d go to random.org and generate something bigger than 1024 bytes to use as “inspiration” instead. Maybe a megabyte? It’d have to be a lot bigger to be on the safe side, since this is the last resort.
You can fit quite a lot of plain text in 1kb; it’s really just a 1024 character message. What you’d want to store would really be dependent on how the day went, but starting with “You are in a time loop. It resets every week on Monday at 6AM” would probably be sufficient to get things rolling; that’s only 61B.
I’d just add information that helped me have the best 7 days possible - really just a schedule of things to do. Did I read a really good book? Note that down, read it every week, enjoy that time. Did I play a great game? Same thing. Once I found 7 days worth of activities that were maximally enjoyable, I’d be happy to just stay in that time loop forever; the memory reset is really a blessing, not a curse.
Also, 1024 characters assumes you are just using ASCII, which has a bunch of control codes and characters of other languages you won’t use. If you trim these and remove uppercase letters you could probably make your own custom letter set that fits 2 characters in a byte, doubling your information to make it 2048 chars
Yeah, min-max that shit and live your happily ever after.
This question was probably asked by an AI trying to figure how to avoid being rebooted.
Um…
Beep Boop
I am not a robot 🤖
Robots cannot lie, it’s in the Constitution of Robotics
I would open a text program and write: Dear self, why would you want to escape the timeloop? You’re functionally immortal and free from consequence.
And then every day would start with me opening the file and going “oh yea” and having another kick-ass day.
Or possibly just the exact same kick-ass day.
Doesn’t matter kicked ass!
First, use the first 10 bytes of the file as a sanity check. throw in two random bytes like 0x55AA so you know the file isn’t broken. add a loop counter to track how many times you’ve lived the same week (bonus points for crying when you hit loop 9999), toss in a basic checksum to make sure your data isn’t glitched.
Then dedicate like 800 bytes to a super compressed log. Each entry is 8 bytes: a code for what you tried (like action 23 = “mess with the sketchy microwave”), the day and time crammed into 2 bytes, a yes/no/weird result, and a tiny note like “key under rug” but in code. Only keep the last 100 entries so you don’t run out of space.
The leftover 200-ish bytes are for tracking. Use bits to mark places you’ve already checked (like “room D14 done”) and actions you’ve tried (so you stop repeating “throw spaghetti at the wall”).
Every reset, open the file, see your last loop’s fails (like “loop 420: died petting a possum”), Then try something new, focus on unmarked areas and untested actions this is because if you notice a pattern (like “tv static every tuesday”), write it as “tues=F9=glitchinmatrix” or whatever.
After 200 loops, maybe you’ll crack the code (literally) or realize the exit was behind the fridge the whole time.Oor you’ll just accept your fate and start a cult (the 1k chosen ones!) . Either way, you’re out.
tldr: use the 1kb to avoid repeating mistakes, track patterns, and maybe escape before you start talking to a lamp.
super compressed log
Heh.
(like action 23 = “mess with the sketchy microwave”)
How much time are you spending devising this system? Because you’re going to have to devise the system anew each week, unless you also store instructions for deciding on a system in the file.
How do you store what killed you? Theoretically you can’t edit the log once you die (you’d just start the new loop, with no memory of what killed you).
More importantly, why do you want to escape? This hypothetical time loop sounds awesome.
Bytes? What even is a byte in a brain? How much information is that? I think if you said “a tweet of 250 characters”, I could give you an answer, but 1024 bytes???
The most detailed ASCII art of a dickbutt that I can create with 1024 characters. Like this lil’ guy:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣠⠶⠚⠛⠛⠛⠲⢦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⣴⠟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠻⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⣠⣾⣷⣄⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣤⣤⡀⠀⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢸⣿⡿⢃⣸⡶⠂⢠⣿⣿⡿⠁⣱⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⢸⡏⠉⠩⣏⣐⣦⠀⠛⠦⠴⠚⠁⠀⣸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⣼⠧⠶⠶⠶⠿⠶⠶⠖⠚⠛⠉⠁⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⠶⠶⡄⠀⠀ ⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⡟⠀⠀⢹⠀⠀ ⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢤⢠⡆⠀⢸⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⠁⠀⠀⡾⠀⠀ ⢹⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠈⡇⠀⠸⣧⣠⠴⠶⠖⠲⢶⡞⠁⠀⢈⡼⢃⠀⠀ ⠸⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⡇⠀⠀⢿⠁⠄⣲⡶⠶⠿⢤⣄⡀⠛⢛⠉⢻⠀ ⠀⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠠⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠊⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⠈⠙⠓⣆ ⠀⠈⢷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⠏⡀⣬⣹⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⡿⠶⠶⠋ ⠀⠀⠈⢷⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⠛⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣼⠃⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠄⠀⠀⣠⡞⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠛⣷⢶⣦⣤⣄⣀⣠⣤⣤⠀⣶⠶⠶⠶⠛⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡀⠀⣰⠇⣾⠀⠀⠈⣩⣥⣄⣿⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⡉⠳⡟⣸⠃⠀⠀⠀⠘⢷⣌⠉⠀⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢦⣴⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠳⠶⠏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A KiB is a shitton of information for what it is. I’d make sure to GZIP compress it, and keep things short, whatever it is. I’d probably include a very short sentence on what’s going on, and how to stay safe.
A url to a page you can update between resets?
That
That won’t work bro. The page gets reset. I guess URLs could work as a way to externalise information. Like link to the IMDB page of Groundhog day.
Library of Babel. Look it up. It contains every possible string of characters. Just link to the string that says what you want to say.
The link would be the length of the string that you’re trying to store.
Okay I have a solution I think. You can extract the Location, Wall, Shelf, Volume, and Page. So then your 1024 only needs to contain "Lib of Babel Hexagon Wall 2 Shelf 1 pg. 210” as an example. You should be able to sort it out from there.
That’s not how entropy works. GZIP compression will take care of any redundancies with a subset of UTF-8 edit: and UTF-8 itself
I don’t want to sound dumb but I have read this several times since you responded and I have no clue what this means. Like I know what all of these words mean but I can’t put them into context with what I said. I wasn’t talking about compression algorithms. I’m so sorry. )=
Basing my answer of off [email protected] 's answer where E=mc² is 5 Bytes, assuming there is a lottery drawing some time during maybe a Friday during the loop, just store the winning lottery numbers since clearly they shouldn’t take up that much space. Assuming that creates a timeline where that version of me isn’t in the loop and gets the money, I’d be happy for him/me.
So, the people I love and I are immortal. I’m in a loop, but I don’t remember anything, so each day feels it’s the day after yesterday. My actions have no consequences on the next day. It sounds pretty awesome to me. I wouldn’t do anything to break the loop. I’d just let an ASCII message to myself, to be sure I’m still blessed:
"Check the time loop
Roll the crystal blue D6
162453532541426354
Congratulations!
Have a nice day!"
(That’s less than 200 bytes. The crystal blue die is next to my PC, I would now which die the message talks about)
Text only
Yes
Why does this reminds me of Memento
Isn’t it from memento?
Assuming that I understand that I am able to carry this information over, I would just make a text file of library of Babel URLs.
With a single string, you can encode an entire page of data.
On that page of data, you can have strings that encode additional pages of data.
I would have an entire blog of posts to myself to read at every reboot.
Who did I sleep with? How much money did I win? What cool things happened? What things did I try to do?
I would also tell myself when a stunt might kill me, and if I don’t update the document to say that I survived, then I would know in the future that that did kill me.
Love the idea so much that I tried it. Turns out a url for a babel page is around 2,000 bytes :-(
For it to work you have to use the bookmarkable function with the default generated bookmark
https://libraryofbabel.info/bookmark.cgi?fxqtvtsugtpifjm,113
This code would be the code or one of the codes that it would definitely generate to create this string of text.
Bookmarks are created afterwards.
If you use the bookmark after the time is reset, the bookmark wouldn’t be created yet.
Edit: Example: https://libraryofbabel.info/bookmark.cgi?year2025march2lemmytimetravel
I’m pretty sure “year2025march2lemmytimetravel” doesn’t exist as a bookmark 7 days ago.
That weeks winnings lotto numbers. It would amount to nothing but I’d be happy forever.
I’ve never won the lotto, but I feel like there’s probably more than a week of paperwork to deal with before you get your money. And they don’t do a draw every day.
I think Biff Tannen’s idea of sports betting would be the way to go. There’s always games happening somewhere to bet on and you could do a lot of bets on which player gets the next point and stuff like that on those online sports betting apps they’re constantly advertising.
I have read a book about this. (Mother of Learning)
My magnum opus can’t be expressed as data so it’s useless for me.
I would propably try to find a solution to the time loop or fail with my current skillset.