Comments on Sentient Developments: Let’s get metaphysical: How our ongoing existence ...

the world gets more and more like Hollywood--by an...

2010-02-20T02:15:52.542-05:00

the world gets more and more like Hollywood--by analogy the main character must remain alive until the end of the disaster, or we have no reason to be following his story, right? therefore all versions of the script where he dies are eliminated. as the destruction races from California to China, the probability goes down, yet absurd coincidences keep him him alive. so, the longer we live in a world that could be destroyed at any moment, the more like a hollywood movie our lives get. other meta-physicists have argued that rates of 'coincidence' go up exponentially under similar circumstances.(sorry i don't have references)

I think you have it right, Cristian

2009-11-30T16:12:50.505-05:00

I think you have it right, Cristian

2009-11-30T16:12:40.993-05:00

I think you have it right, Cristian

Thank you nato for your answer. Still i try to bri...

2009-11-21T21:58:10.844-05:00

Thank you nato for your answer. Still i try to bring this to the level of understanding how that in my existence can happend (well the problem of aging is a different issue to us now than to my grandparents) anyway i think for example, and old man gets a heart attack one time, then universe split, then again and again etc. you will end up in one universe with a old man with his heart damage against all odds...can i believe that those universes can be so different that this old man can live with a heart affected with a thousand of heart attacks..if so, well surely myself can realize something strange is going on..maybe there is the absurdity element of this? a life perceived eternally against all odds? (sorry for my bad english, im from Chile)

@Cristian, I think the point George is trying to m...

2009-11-19T12:14:15.069-05:00

@Cristian, I think the point George is trying to make is that in quantum immortality theory there must always be an event, no matter how improbable, that preserves the observer, for that observer. Thus, the "you" doing the observing must always exist in a world in which, somehow, you are still observing. Thus whatever quantum event necessary preserve the observer's existence will always occur. It will just so happen that a series of quantum events necessary to preserve your body will occur, because you the observer will not exist in the universes in which those events did not happen. I'm not saying I subscribe to this theory, but that's the outline of how I understand it.

Will somebody please explain how aging and death b...

2009-11-14T16:00:47.424-05:00

Will somebody please explain how aging and death by aging can be explain within the theory, i mean, our flesh sustrate can`t last forever in every universe possible as it maybe, can somebody tell me how the deterioration of human body is not a problem for quantum inmortality. Thank you

@caeious "why are people scared that the LHC might...

2009-11-13T16:48:43.086-05:00

@caeious
"why are people scared that the LHC might equal the end of the world?...Is it just irrational fear based on some quantum physicists' speculations?"

I'm honestly not able to find any quantum physicists who think this is an outcome likely enough to worry about. George's post keeps its relevance despite this fact, of course, because it's about the metaphysics of a class of event, not the actual nature of the LHC. So while I wouldn't call the fear 'irrational', I would call it unwarranted.

"Do you 'think' or do you 'know' there are definite safety precautions in place for situations in which real danger is foreseeable. Please state why you 'think' so or please state evidence backing your 'knowing' so."

I use the word "think" because I am not familiar with all the different candidates for powerful technologies. Those with which I'm familiar do generally have safeguards: nuclear technologies, research into genetics and so on are all regulated in some way or another. Are the regulations sufficient? Are they excessive? Those are definitely in question, but so far as I can tell there are safeguards of some kind or another.

The problem with this idea is that if humanity som...

2009-11-12T17:38:19.841-05:00

The problem with this idea is that if humanity someday erradicate itself there will be no one the day after to see that was wrong.

Or maybe with a perfect human clonning tech we can program some robots to rebuild humanity after this "test".

@caeious: I think there are definite safety precau...

2009-11-12T15:54:02.809-05:00

@caeious: I think there are definite safety precautions in place for situations in which real danger is foreseeable. The majority opinion that holds sway in the case of the LHC seems difficult to assail: higher-energy interactions than those to which the LHC aspired happen all the time (cosmic rays striking the ground, etc) and have been for the entire history of the planet. It's possible that something about the particular scenario of our (relatively) low-energy events will lead to catastrophe, but this would have to be in a completely unexpected way. If I pour drano down my sink to unclog a drain and it acts as a mutagen, it's not impossible that it could result in a catastrophic pathogen, yet I don't think anyone has contemplated putting any safeguards on drano use relevant to that potentiality.

Minor quibble: The reports said it was a piece of ...

2009-11-12T13:41:52.106-05:00

Minor quibble: The reports said it was a piece of baguette (what we call French Bread), not a bagel.