The Kardashev Scale is a hypothetical framework for measuring a civilization’s level of technological advancement. It was proposed in 1964 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev, who classified civilizations into three types based on their energy consumption:
Type I: A civilization that can utilize all available energy on its home planet.
Type II: A civilization that can capture all the energy emitted by its home star.
Type III: A civilization that can control all the energy in its own galaxy.
But some people think that civilizations even more advanced than Type III might exist. They could potentially use all the energy from the entire universe, or even from multiple universes. These are called Type IV and Type V civilizations, and they resemble real gods.
The difference between Type IV and Type V civilizations is not very clear, as they are both beyond our understanding. However, one possible way to distinguish them is based on their relationship to the multiverse.
The multiverse is the idea that there are many different universes, each with its own laws of nature, history and life forms. Some of these universes may be similar to our own, while others may be very different. Some of them may even have different dimensions, such as time and space.
A Type IV civilization may be able to access and explore the multiverse, but not change it. They may be able to travel to different universes, observe and interact with them, and learn from them. They may also be able to communicate and cooperate with other Type IV civilizations in the multiverse.
A Type V civilization could not only access and explore the multiverse, but also change it. They may be able to create, destroy, and modify universes as they please. They may also be able to transcend the multiverse and exist on a higher plane of reality. They may have no limits or boundaries to their power and knowledge.
The difference between Type IV and Type V civilizations is similar to the difference between a tourist and a creator. A tourist can visit different places but not change them. A creator can create new places or modify existing places. Both are great, but one is more powerful than the other.
A Type V civilization would be so advanced that it would be indistinguishable to us from magic. It would have access to infinite energy, matter, information and dimensions. It could create, destroy and alter universes as easily as we can create images.
It could travel through time and space without any limitations. It would be able to manipulate the fundamental forces and constants of nature and even create new ones. It could transcend the concepts of life and death and exist in any form it desires.
Such a civilization could be at least billions of years old, and with such a rich history, our human one might look dull in comparison.
For ‘primitive’ civilizations (such as a type 2 civilization) they could be gods of their legends.
Their machines may resemble bacteria, viruses, the laws of physics itself, and at the same time they may have constructed hyper-megastructures as large as entire universes to live in, to transform their energy, to create universes.
In their normal daily Joe’s lives, they may be willing to create natural environments, while others may like to live in hyper-high-tech structures.
They completely completed the life of a transhumanist and the originally organic and technological parts may already be indistinguishable as they have completely perfected this technological development.
To us “annoying” type 0.7 people, their technology may seem like the force of nature; they can manipulate how quickly an entire universe expands, how it comes into being.
What would they do with their divine powers?
There is no definitive answer to these questions because they depend on the values, ethics and preferences of each individual or collective being. The best we can do is think theoretically from a human point of view. Some possible scenarios are:
Exploration: A Type V civilization may be driven by curiosity and wonder, seeking to explore and understand every aspect of existence. They could create and visit countless universes, each with different laws of physics, histories, and life forms. They can experiment with different scenarios and outcomes, and learn from their experiences.
Creation: A Type V civilization may be driven by creativity and expression, seeking to create new forms of beauty and meaning. They could design and construct universes based on their aesthetic preferences, and populate them with diverse and complex creatures. They can also create art, music, literature and other forms of culture that reflect their vision and values.
Conservation: A Type V civilization may be driven by compassion and responsibility, seeking to preserve and protect the existing universes and their inhabitants. They can intervene in cases of injustice, suffering or danger, and provide guidance and assistance to lower civilizations. They could also guarantee the stability and harmony of the multiverse, and prevent any threats or conflicts that could endanger it.
Evolution: A Type V civilization may be driven by growth and improvement, seeking to improve themselves and their universes. They may be constantly seeking new challenges and opportunities and striving to overcome their limitations. They may also seek to expand their consciousness and awareness and reach higher levels of wisdom and enlightenment.
These scenarios are not mutually exclusive, and a Type V civilization can pursue more than one at a time. Alternatively, they may have goals that are completely incomprehensible to us, or no goals at all. They could simply exist in a state of blissful harmony with themselves and the multiverse.
Where is our place on the Kardashev scale?
The original K scale was qualitative, that is, there were no “intermediate” gradations between the categories.
Current human civilization does not even exist on this scale. (Since the original scale did not have a zero, it started with one)
Later, people adjusted the scale to quantify it, recognizing that different planets, stars and galaxies can have vastly different energy flows. They took the total energy flow of the Earth, the total energy flow of the Sun, and the total energy production of the Milky Way (as was believed at the time) and attempted to perform a linear regression, to find specific energy NUMBERS for the K1, 2, and 3 levels.
At this modified scale, it should be noted that a K1 is not exactly the total energy flow of the Earth and a K2 is not exactly the total energy production of the sun (and a K3 is not exactly the total energy production of any individual). galaxy, but only the combined energy production of a very large number of stars).
This linearized scale is logarithmic, and if you place the current energy budget of modern human civilization on the scale, it comes out to just over 0.7.
Is God a Type V+ civilization?
The distinction between God and a Type 5 civilization remains undefined because God has no clear definition.
This poses a challenge to religion, because an unexpected appearance of God would leave us unable to discern whether we are encountering aliens, as religion fails to accurately articulate the nature of their deities.
At our current stage of scientific and technological development, people can only rely on their imagination to speculate about a hypothetical Type 5 civilization.
Such a civilization is far beyond our understanding, similar to what our advanced Western high-tech society of the 21st century might look like to a Cro-Magnon man from the Stone Age magically transported to our present day – especially someone who, unlike the Sentinels of North Sentinel Island, has had no prior knowledge of our civilization.
No one on earth, or perhaps in this universe (if it is by design) can give you an answer to the fact that God is extraterrestrial, or more than extraterrestrial. But it is likely that there is a higher form of advanced species beyond our imagination.
