Singularity

Singularity or singular point may refer to:

Science and technology

Mathematics

• Mathematical singularity, a point at which a given mathematical object is not defined or not "well-behaved", for example infinite or not differentiable

Geometry

• Singular point of a curve, where the curve is not given by a smooth embedding of a parameter
• Singular point of an algebraic variety, a point where an algebraic variety is not locally flat
• Rational singularity, a concept in singularity theory
• Singularity theory, which deals with these concepts

Complex analysis

• Essential singularity, a singularity near which a function exhibits extreme behavior
• Isolated singularity, a mathematical singularity that has no other singularities close to it
• Movable singularity, a concept in singularity theory
• Removable singularity, a point at which a function is not defined but at which it can be so defined that it is continuous at the singularity

Natural sciences

• Gravitational singularity, a region in spacetime in which tidal gravitational forces become infinite
  • Initial singularity, the gravitational singularity of infinite density before quantum fluctuations that caused the Big Bang and subsequent inflation that created the Universe
• Mechanical singularity, a position or configuration of a mechanism or a machine where the subsequent behavior cannot be predicted
• Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems, theorems in general relativity theory about when gravitation produces singularities such as black holes
• Prandtl–Glauert singularity, the point at which a sudden drop in air pressure occurs
• Singularity (climate), a weather phenomenon associated with a specific calendar date
• Van Hove singularity in the density of states of a material

Technology

• Singularity (operating system), an operating system developed by Microsoft Research written in managed code

Literature

Futurology

• Technological singularity, a hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence will have progressed to the point of a greater-than-human intelligence
  • The Singularity Is Near, a 2005 book by Ray Kurzweil
• Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
  • Singularity Summit, its annual conference

Literary studies

• Temporal singularity, otherwise known as a point of divergence, is a concept in speculative fiction, usually an item or event triggered by an item that results in divergent narratives in which the singularity alters the new timeline away from a prior "default" state, leaving behind a parallel universe in which the singularity did not occur; this is the basis of much of the "alternate history" genre and may involve technology in "hard" science fiction or may involve anything including magic as the basis of the "what if?" scenario

Entertainment

Film and television

• "Singularity" (Star Trek: Enterprise), a second season episode of Star Trek: Enterprise
• "Singularity", a first season episode of Stargate SG-1
• "The Singularity" (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), a third season episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Singularity was the working title for The Lovers (2013 film), starring Josh Hartnett and Bipasha Basu
• Singularity, an upcoming film made by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
• The Singularity Is Near, a 2010 docudrama; a true story about the future written and co-directed by Ray Kurzweil

Music

• Singularity (Joe Morris album), 2001
• Singularity (Peter Hammill album), 2006
• Singularity (Mae album), 2007
• Singularity (Robby Krieger album), 2010
• Singularity (Northlane album), 2013
• Singularity, a 2014 EP by electronic music band Lemaitre
• "Singularity" (song), performed by Bright Eyes and written by Conor Oberst
• "Singularity", a song by Textures on the 2011 album Dualism
• "Singularity", a song by Born of Osiris on the 2011 album The Discovery
• "Singularity", a song by Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas featuring My Name Is Kay, 2013
• "Singularity", a song by Tesseract on the 2013 album Altered State
• "Singularity", a song by New Order on the 2015 album Music Complete
• "The Singularity", a song by Doctor Steel on the 2002 album People of Earth

Literature

• Singularity (William Sleator novel), a 1985 science-fiction novel by William Sleator
• Singularity (Bill DeSmedt novel), a 2004 novel by Bill DeSmedt
• Singularity 7, a graphic novel by Ben Templesmith
• Singularity (audio drama), a Doctor Who audio drama

Video games

• Singularity (video game), a 2010 video game developed by Raven Software
• Endgame: Singularity, a 2005 video game

Other

• Singularity University, a California Benefit Corporation part university, part think-tank, part business incubator, based on Ray Kurzweil's theory of technological singularity