<< George Levy writes > > This said, I find it difficult to talk about increase and decrease and making > comparisons of the measure when the quantity in question is infinite. > > Measure is not finite. This would violate the principle of plenitude and it > would require a reason for measure to be any particular size.
Russell Standish responds Remember we are restricting our attention to a self-aware subsystem (eg one called Russell Standish) of the Quantum Mechanics subsystem of the everything universe. The principle of plenitude can only apply to the whole everything universe, not to well defined subsystems like the MWI. Now the measure of Russell Standish is a finite quantity, and is calculated by the formula m_{RS}(t) = <\Psi(t)|P_{RS}|\Psi(t)>, where \Psi(t) is the wavefunction of the multiverse, and P_{RS} is the projection operator corresponding to Russell Standish. It doesn't matter that we don't exactly know what \Psi(t) or P_{RS} are - however they do exist as part of the MWI mathematical structure. >> Russell, you have made an interesting point. You have separated the concept of plenitude from the MWI. According to you, the MWI is only a subset of the Plenitude. I am not sure if I agree with this but the point is well taken. I certainly think that the MWI is a manifestation of the plenitude. Why should the MWI be of lesser size than the Plenitude? I don't have an answer for this. You also maintain that "you" are "finite." Let us discuss the meaning of "you" and "finite." What do you mean when you talk about the entity Russell Standish. How much variations from the nominal point "Russell Standish as described on August 27th at exactly 4PM Australian time, along the continuum of the wave function are you willing to accept? Is Russell Standish on the 28th at 4 PM still Russell Standish? How about a variation of Russell that never materialized in "our world" but is well and kicking on another branch that separated at 6 PM on August 27th? In fact I believe that Russell Standish exists in an infinite number of variations just as there are an infinite number of points on a line between two points A and B. Russell Standish is as infinite as the continuum, and in fact there is a path along the Russell Standish continuum that eventually becomes George Levy. So we are all in a sense related through all the conscious points (locus of consciousness?) in the MW that separate us. :-) George Levy