This is only a theory.

Suppose you had lost the will to live, so you decide to end your life. You purchase a gun, find the most comfortable place to sit down and pull the trigger. But to your dismay, instead of experiencing whatever existence you believe to have after death, you find yourself in terrible agony, bleeding profusely from the wound in your head. Police and medical teams arrive on the scene in a matter of minutes, you are taken to the hospital where you learn you will live to see another day. Now in a psychiatric ward, you ponder to yourself how you managed to live. Surely a shot through the temple would kill you. By some miracle, you have survived what would have ended the lives of 99.99% of others that put themselves in the same scenario.

How could this have happened?

The fact is, you ARE dead. Just not from your point of view.

If you consider that every day you are presented with choices that would ultimately change the course of your life, and that each choice branches off into an alternate universe. For example, you go to the humane society to get a pet, do you buy a dog or a cat? You believe you bought the cat however there is another version of the universe in which you bought the dog, you are just unable to experience it because of the decision you had made. Every decision you make provides an alternate "lifeline" in which you experience the universe. Free will would suggest that there are an infinite number of choices you could make, hence there would be an infinite number of universes.

Now, what are the chances that you survive a shotgun blast to the head? 1 in 10000000000000000? Even less than that? Chance is made completely irrelevant because there is an infinite number of chances that will survive. You could say that you died 4968460560937 times before you experienced the one time you somehow managed to survive.

With death, your consciousness would cease to exist in one universe and would be transferred to the one which you had survived. The people in the previous universe would perceive you to be dead, but because of your consciousness, you are only able to experience surviving the incident and life afterwards.

You are immortal, at least from your point of view.

Immortality sounds good. But consider the horrible disfigurement and agony you are now in because you managed to survive with 1/4 of your head missing. Now suppose you get into a car accident and are terribly maimed, you may die in a number of universes but ultimately you experience survival, and you keep on living, now without your right arm. Eventually you are going to get old and die a peaceful death from natural causes right? You will, but you won't get to experience it. Old age normally would be the end of you, but that heart attack or stroke that killed you 549847347 times before, didn't this time. You will live forever, becoming more and more mutilated, and because of the infinite number of branches that can be created, one leading to your survival, you will never die.

Unfortunately, if any of this is true, we are assured to suffer for eternity.

If you don't understand the theory of alternate universes etc., try reading the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_univers es
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Many-worlds_inte rpretation

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/699380

We all know that the physical properties of the universe are governed by whether or not they're fun.

But what about when we get to the point where there is no possibility of survival?  You jump off of a cliff.  You fall 5000 feet.  There is nothing around you that could possibly stop it.  You aim your head right at the ground so that your brain goes first.

Or if an astronaut walks outside the space shuttle.

The theory is easily testable... but you can only prove it to yourself I guess.

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I don't know, I think I am 70/40 on this issue. I always give it my 110%.

For example, my Mom told me that my Dad almost drowned once in the ocean when they went to the beach (WAY before I was born). Some guy saved him.

But perhaps, drawing from this theory, my Dad really did die. But his consciousness was transformed into the universe where he didn't. So he perceives himself being saved -- because as QI states: you can't die, and my Mom in the other universe would be mourning his death, but she's unaware of such an event in this universe since we're all unaware of our "other existences"

And to counter to the "ultimate death" scenario (ie jumping off a cliff, nuclear bomb, etc)....well, since a universe is created with every possible action, then there would be a universe where you DIDNT decide to jump off a cliff, or a universe where a nuclear bomb DIDNT explode

As I wrote in the other thread, and quoted by the BBC Program "There would be a Universe where Al Gore is President and Elvis is still a live"....what's more, there' would be a universe where Hitler won WWII etc etc

So you would be "restored" (in a sense) to a universe where you decided NOT to jump off the cliff, or whatever

Again, I'm countering for the sake of argument. I don't necessarily believe this theory. But at the same time, I dont think it should be discarded willy nilly (ha i never used that phrase before lol).

I'm not religious. I'm agnostic -- believe there COULD be a God since there's no proof there isnt one. But since there is no proof there is a God either, I can't believe it.

So to me, since this is indeed backed up by some science -- as small of an amount it may be -- it has more credibility than the theory of God. Sorry you all religious people, but that's just my view.

Again, whether it's true or not really isnt my point. Rather, I just find it so amazing to think about. It really does your head in.

And I guess the only way this can be proven correct is by further scientific research and development. Right now, it remains a theory. One day it could be 100% disproven, or conversely shown to be correct. Chances are the former, of course. But it does make you wonder: WHAT IF, amongst other things....

Post edited at 7:59 pm on Feb. 18, 2008 by TheIntellect

Post edited at 8:05 pm on Feb. 19, 2008 by dotty213

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It seems that I don't have to ask a question if I already know the answer.

This also explains why death is such an elusive thing.. The real fact of the matter is that one can never actually die..

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Genetics is fate. Change our genes, achieve free will.

The first and foremost problem is the inflated ego of humanity. With all this talk about parallel universes, the only thing that ever seems to come into consideration is choice - specifically, the choices made by humans. Why then, do our choices matter so much? Why is there an alternative reality for each action? And why are our choices the only things that matter? There are a million, gazillion things that happen each second - some of them are so small that they only occur at an atomic level. Are you suggesting that with each of these events, a new universe is created? Nearly everything that occurs has an alternate ending. Surely it is unreasonable and implausible to suggest that there are an infinite number of universes.

Another thing to consider is 'why' and 'how' of the situation. Why are there alternate universes? Do they really have a purpose? It seems to me that parallel universes are completely unnecessary - it's almost fatalistic. What's the use in taking care of yourself? If you don't, it's ok, because you'll be alive in another universe. However, because you won't consciously be able to reap the benefits of life, there's no point. Having said that, there's no point in making an effort to stop yourself getting hit by a truck either, because even in the most extreme event, there is the minute possibility of your survival, therefore making it a definite event. It's self contradictory. As for the 'how', I have nothing to say for that. I'm not one for extra dimensions - they confuse me.

Lastly, there is a point at which everything must die or be eliminated, and no amount of parallel universes will allow anything to prevail indefinitely.

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When I get my love back, I will vanish.
Book, I wish to see your face.

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I've heard a similar argument before and I disagree.

The first and foremost problem is the inflated ego of humanity. With all this talk about parallel universes, the only thing that ever seems to come into consideration is choice - specifically, the choices made by humans. Why then, do our choices matter so much? Why is there an alternative reality for each action? And why are our choices the only things that matter? There are a million, gazillion things that happen each second - some of them are so small that they only occur at an atomic level. Are you suggesting that with each of these events, a new universe is created? Nearly everything that occurs has an alternate ending. Surely it is unreasonable and implausible to suggest that there are an infinite number of universes.

Another thing to consider is 'why' and 'how' of the situation. Why are there alternate universes? Do they really have a purpose? It seems to me that parallel universes are completely unnecessary - it's almost fatalistic. What's the use in taking care of yourself? If you don't, it's ok, because you'll be alive in another universe. However, because you won't consciously be able to reap the benefits of life, there's no point. Having said that, there's no point in making an effort to stop yourself getting hit by a truck either, because even in the most extreme event, there is the minute possibility of your survival, therefore making it a definite event. It's self contradictory. As for the 'how', I have nothing to say for that. I'm not one for extra dimensions - they confuse me.

Lastly, there is a point at which everything must die or be eliminated, and no amount of parallel universes will allow anything to prevail indefinitely.

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You might choose to stand in front of a truck, but there's no reason to believe that out of the seventy hundred billion universes created in that instant, you inhabit the one in which you survive. And in any case, it'll still hurt.

This bit, on the other hand, I agree with. That's the one flaw that makes this whole thing implausible, and why I'm undecided as to the existence of parallel universes

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vote

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Quote: from Scui at 12:16 am on Mar. 2, 2008

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I've heard a similar argument before and I disagree.  

 The first and foremost problem is the inflated ego of humanity. With all this talk about parallel universes, the only thing that ever seems to come into consideration is choice - specifically, the choices made by humans. Why then, do our choices matter so much? Why is there an alternative reality for each action? And why are our choices the only things that matter? There are a million, gazillion things that happen each second - some of them are so small that they only occur at an atomic level. Are you suggesting that with each of these events, a new universe is created? Nearly everything that occurs has an alternate ending. Surely it is unreasonable and implausible to suggest that there are an infinite number of universes.  

 Another thing to consider is 'why' and 'how' of the situation. Why are there alternate universes? Do they really have a purpose? It seems to me that parallel universes are completely unnecessary - it's almost fatalistic. What's the use in taking care of yourself? If you don't, it's ok, because you'll be alive in another universe. However, because you won't consciously be able to reap the benefits of life, there's no point. Having said that, there's no point in making an effort to stop yourself getting hit by a truck either, because even in the most extreme event, there is the minute possibility of your survival, therefore making it a definite event. It's self contradictory. As for the 'how', I have nothing to say for that. I'm not one for extra dimensions - they confuse me.  

 Lastly, there is a point at which everything must die or be eliminated, and no amount of parallel universes will allow anything to prevail indefinitely.

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Ah, but you see, it's not just OUR choices, it's every single thing that happens, right down to the subatomic level. I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that the number of universes created purely regarding alternates in my room exceeds the number of atoms in the known universe. If you expand that and multiply it by billions of years it very rapidly approaches mind-boggling proportions.  
It's not implausible at all, in fact that's the basis of the theory.

You might choose to stand in front of a truck, but there's no reason to believe that out of the seventy hundred billion universes created in that instant, you inhabit the one in which you survive. And in any case, it'll still hurt.

This bit, on the other hand, I agree with. That's the one flaw that makes this whole thing implausible, and why I'm undecided as to the existence of parallel universes

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So what's a universe then? It's it physically housed somewhere? Why are there so many of them and what's the point in having them?
I can't argue with that, but it just seems like an overly complex theory for something that isn't needed. The issue about consciousness is the one that stumps me the most. Genetically you could be the same as the person in a different universe, but does it make that person you? Yeah, I'm digressing.

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When I get my love back, I will vanish.
Book, I wish to see your face.

I don't think the theory necessarilyt involves shared consciousness.

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vote

Bad explanation, forgive me.

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When I get my love back, I will vanish.
Book, I wish to see your face.