The Wiki article "Quantum suicide and immortality" (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_suicide_and_immortality) states:
"Also, the philosopher David Lewis, in "How Many Lives Has Schrödinger's Cat?", remarked that in the vast majority of the worlds in which an immortal observer might find himself (i.e. the subset of quantum-possible worlds in which the observer does not die), he will survive, but will be terribly maimed. This is because in each of the scenarios typically given in thought experiments (nuclear bombing, Russian roulette, etc.), for every world in which the observer survives unscathed, there are likely to be far more worlds in which the observer survives terribly disfigured, badly disabled, and so on. It is for this reason, Lewis concludes, that we ought to hope that the many-worlds interpretation is false." David Lewis' statement cuts to the core of the nature of consciousness. If each conscious observer on planet Earth (and let's assume the laws of physics don't limit consciousness to humans but includes any sentient animal life form) exists in "Many Worlds" (see Wiki topic on physicist "Hugh Everett III" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Everett) then Houston, we've got a problem. The human population alone is over 6 billion conscious observers. Each observer can cause branching into an unfathomably huge number of parallel universes (or perhaps an infinite number). Everyone else, in addition to an incomprehensibly large number of people only born in some parallel universes, branches into their own parallel universes, extrapolating logically from the "Many Worlds" theory. Each one of us is essentially forced to consciously exist in parallel universes that continue coming into existence as the result of the actions of every other conscious observer on this planet. Include conscious non-human observers (animal and who knows what else) and Houston, we've got a really big problem... or is it really a problem? Instead of using this line of thinking to debunk the "Many Worlds" interpretation, I think this isn't such a big problem as it initially appears. For one thing, consider sleep walking. Sleep walkers can appear conscious, carry on conversations, drive automobiles and operate machinery, essentially do things they can do in the awake state. Only when they're sleep walking, they do not remember those minutes or hours they did all these things. In essence they "fast forwarded" through those events, even though other observers may have carried on coversations with them, witnessed them driving an automobile or doing other things, all the time thinking these sleepwalkers were wide awake and conscious. Suppose our existences in parallel universes is similar to if we were sleepwalking? Suppose we are not conscious observers in those parallel universes, but other conscious observers believe we are conscious as well? Suppose others in this parallel universe we are in, are similarly sleepwalking in that they are not conscious in this parallel universe (but are conscious in another)? That leads to interesting possibilities and questions. Do we somehow "choose" the parallel universe where we are consciously present and awake? Do people close to us likely "choose" to be present and conscious in the same parallel universe we are present and conscious in, so in our relationship with them, we're not talking to someone who is sleepwalking and really not conscious? When we are in a parallel universe where we are not consciously present, does this mean the human brain operates the body like a biological machine, similarly to unconscious human-like androids in the movie "I, Robot" that one could swear are real sentient people? The questions snowball along this line of thinking, as one wonders if our consciousness moves from one parallel universe to another? If we don't like our lives or the way the world has become, could our consciousness latch on to another more favorable timeline while the sleepwalking unconscious version of ourselves continues in the parallel universe we consciously departed from? What mechanism causes this change? Is it intensely wishing for a different outcome in our lives, or a different world where the recession ended? If each observer on this planet is capable of spawning branching parallel universes, are there unconscious sleepwalking versions of us in an infinite number of timelines? This leads to a very scary question, could our consciousness "wake up" in some bazaar timeline caused by other conscious observers, a place where we do not want to exist? When we open our eyes in the darkness of our bedrooms, look at the clock radio and breathe a sigh of relief that we were only dreaming, is it possible what we just experienced wasn't a dream but a conscious observance looking at another parallel universe from the perspective of Schrödinger's Cat? --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
