Saibal Mitra writes:
>The answer must be a) because (and here I disagree with Jesse), all that
>exists is an ensemble of isolated observer moments. The future, the past,
>alternative histories, etc. they all exist in a symmetrical way. It don't
>see how some states can be more ''real'' than other states. Of course, the
>universe we experience seems to be real to us while alternative universes,
>or past or future states of this universe are not being experienced by us.
>
>So, you must think of yourself at any time as being randomly sampled from
>the set of all possible observer moments. To get to answer b) you have to
>redefine your identity so that experiencing having done the experiment
>becomes a necessary part of your identity. But this is cheating because you
>wouldn't say that if ''death'' were replaced by a partial memory erasure
>such that the experience of having done the experiment were wiped out form
>your memory.
>
>
>
> > Stathis Papaioannou writes:
> > If on the basis of a coin toss the world splits, and in one branch I am
> > instantaneously killed while in the other I continue living, there are
> > several possible ways this might be interpreted from the 1st person
> > viewpoint:
> >
> > (a) Pr(I live) = Pr(I die) = 0.5
> >
> > (b) Pr(I live) = 1, Pr(I die) = 0
> >
> > (c) Pr(I live) = 0, Pr(I die) = 1
> >
> > Even on this list, there are people who might say (a) above is the case
> > rather than (b) or (c).
> >
> > Bruno Marchal replies:
> > Are you sure?
> >
> > I was thinking of people who accept some ensemble theory such as MWI,
>but
> > don't believe in QTI. I must admit, I find it difficult to understand
>how
> > even a dualist might justify (a) as being correct. Would anyone care to
> > help?
I agree that "all that exists is an ensemble of isolated observer moments"
is a good way to look at it. In fact, that is why I think the best
"objective" answer is (c) rather than (b): each OM exists only transiently.
However, as a human, what I am interested in is the experience (one could
say, the illusion) of living my life a step at a time which results from the
existence of certain special OMs in the great and mixed up ensemble of all
possible OMs. Now, where I disagree with you is in the method and meaning of
sampling from this ensemble. It is literally true, in a sense, that my "next
experience" is more likely to be an OM of relatively high measure: a moment
from my life in any month other than November 2005; the experiences of a
Chinese rather than an Australian; death, the content-poor OM of inanimate
matter. If a third person were randomly pulling OMs from the plenitude and
setting them down in order, that is indeed what he would get. Amazingly,
however, when *I* am doing the sampling, my "next experience" always turns
out to be... well, something that we all recognise as a next experience. I
always seem to find that rare OM amongst all the other other ones where I
turn into a turnip, or I'm suddenly 95 years old, or all the other countless
possibilities. I don't even have to go looking for it: if it's out there at
all, I'll find it. If there are several candidate "next moments", including
ones where I have suffered partial memory loss, which one I (that is, one
version of me) experience will seem to be determined probabilistically. And
if there are no candidate next moments at all, then I die.
I have used "I" rather loosely and without defining it because there is no
objective truth of the matter when considering personal identity. I may be
physically completely different (i.e. comprised of different matter) today
than I was a year ago, and my mental state and memories may only be
approximately similar to what they were then, but I am sure I am still the
same person, and that is what counts. If I had undergone a head injury or a
dementing illness in the past year, I would be even less similar now than I
was then, but I would probably still think I was the same person unless I
was really far gone, in which case it probably would be the same as if I had
died. These are matters millions of people deal with every day: you don't
have to bring up multiple copies in other worlds.
Stathis Papaioannou
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Received on Sun Nov 27 2005 - 07:09:00 PST