From: Justin Corwin (thesweetestdream@hotmail.com)
Date: Sun Apr 21 2002 - 17:16:59 MDT
Well, Damien presents an elegant argument, but if we give the "multiverse"
theory creedence, the following becomes obvious:
1. The very existence of a multiverse demands that all things have occurred,
regardless of improbability.
2. Even if for some reason, we had to initiate the randomizing event in our
Earth, every program ever compiled was compiled in all possible worlds in
all possible ways. So, in an effective sense, though less elegant, Damien's
experiment has been performed every time anyone has ever compiled a program
and run it, no matter how trivial.
3. If multiverses are reversable(a spawned probability to back track to the
originating threadal reality) we are confronted with nonsense. Every single
universe would be overrrun with time-traveling ancestor worshippers(or
worse), and fanatical nihilistic Blight SIs attempting to destroy their own
historical precedents and so on. If multiverses are traversable at all, they
must be in only one direction, upward and outward, threading new
possibilities, never returning to old ones.
(These analysis are based on an extremely simplified model of reality.
Mostly for intelligibility, and partly for meshing with the previous
discussion. Every time I try to discuss things like this based on my
internal model of reality I end up answering so many questions I revert to
'Taoist Answering Machine' mode:
"Is travel between universes possible"
-There is no 'division' of 'universes', thus your goal is illusory.
"Is time travel possible?"
-There is no time, thus your goal is illusory.
"Are there really infinite universes?"
-Infinity is only the ultimate execution of possibility, your division of
possibility into universes is unneccesary, thus your goal is illusory
And so on.. But in the interest of being a good sport, and enjoying the fun,
I must point out, that in some universe, this email I am sending is a VB
script that someone somewhere will read, and their Outlook Express will
execute it, creating a runaway superintelligent virus that will consume all
computation available in that universe, then begin spilling into all others,
eventually ending in the destruction of the Multiverse, and really pissing
off Q. So really, I am the destructor of all you hope and dream, and it was
that dumb bastard's fault, who had Outlook Express' script execution
enabled.
AND NOW YOU KNOW!
>Brian Wrote:
> > Cole Wrote:
> > And if it turns out that transhuman AIs *can* communicate across
> > parallel worlds after all? You'd better hope that a nice one gets
> > to you before a nasty one does. (And it might not be easy to tell
> > which is which.)
>
>Of course I'm a complete armchair (less than that really :-) quantum
>physicist, but it seems to me like the whole scenario seems awfully
>"this world"-centric. Reminds me of the whole Aristotle thing. If
>communications across worlds is possible, then shouldn't we already
>have been contacted by now? Because if there are an infinite number
>of worlds, some Damien out there should have already convinced someone
>to run this experiment, right?
It's also possible that 'with great power come great responsibility', and
it's so blazingly unlikely that anyone could possibly ever step between
universes that the few you can, don't, for fear of blowing it all the hell.
Anyway, this kind of inquiry is sort of nonsensical, but it's so much fun!
Justin Corwin
outlawpoet@hell.com
"Damn undead Neeble elves..."
-Bun Bun, the Mini-Lop(www.sluggy.com)
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