David Nyman wrote: [re: QTI] > This has obvious > implications for retirement planning in general and avoidance of the > more egregious cul-de-sac situations. On the other hand, short of > outright lunacy vis-a-vis personal safety, it also seems to imply that > from the 1st-person pov we are likely to come through (albeit possibly > in less-than-perfect shape) even apparently minimally survivable > situations. This struck me particularly forcibly while watching the > 9/11 re-runs on TV last night.
It's the cul-de-sac situations that interest me. Are there truly any? Are there moments of consciousness which have no logically possible continuation (while remaining conscious?) It seems the canonical example is surviving a nearby nuclear detonation. One logical possibility is that all your constituent particles quantum-tunnel away from the blast in time. This would be of extremely low measure in absolute terms, but what about the proportion of continuations that contain you as a conscious entity? This also touches on a recent thread about "how being of low measure feels." If QTI is true, and I'm subject to a nuclear detonation, does it matter if my possible continuations are of such a low relative measure? Once I'm "in" them, would I feel any different and should I care? These questions may reduce to something like, "Is there a lower limit to the amplitude of the SWE?" If measure is infinitely divisible, then is there any natural scale to its absolute value? I raised a similar question on the list a few months ago when Tookie Wiliams was in the headlines and was eventually executed by the State of California. What possible continuations exist in this situation? > In effect, we are being presented with a kind of 'yes doctor' in > everyday life. Do you find that these considerations affect your own > behaviour in any way? A very interesting question. If my expectation is that QTI is true and I'll be living for a very long time, I may adjust my financial planning accordingly. But QTI only applies to my own first-person view; I'll be constantly "shedding" branches where I did indeed die. If I have any financial dependents, do I provide for their welfare, even if they'll only exist forever outside my ability to interact with? -Johnathan --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
