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
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Received on Tue Sep 12 2006 - 13:45:02 PDT