>[!abstract] >In astrophysics, spaghettification (sometimes referred to as the noodle effect) is the vertical stretching and horizontal compression of objects into long thin shapes (rather like spaghetti) in a very strong, non-homogeneous gravitational field. It is caused by extreme tidal forces. In the most extreme cases, near a black hole, the stretching and compression are so powerful that no object can resist it (Wikipedia, 2025). >[!note] >I had this idea of temporal, rather than spatial, spaghettification. As change around us accelerates toward a possible technological singularity, one's past and future selves get stretched further away from each other to a degree greater than experienced by one's ancestors. That's because recent generations are more exposed to knowledge and life-changing events than previous generations. The intra-personal difference between the child and adult stages of one's life, therefore, keeps increasing with every generation. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): [[General relativity]] >- **West** (similar): [[Tidal forces]] >- **East** (different): [[Microgravity]] >- **South** (downstream): [[Event horizon crossing]]