sonofsanta Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 How can you prove that all of existence didn't just pop into existence at this very moment, and you were created complete with all your memories and perceptions such that they are indistinguishable from a past that really happened? You may not have been real at the start of this sentence; you may only have a false memory of starting it. On a more cheerful note, every atom in our bodies beyond the hydrogen was forged in the heart of a star, and is fundamentally indestructible*, so everything we are will live forever. And given that we not only orbit our star, but our star orbits the galactic core, you will never physically be in the same place ever again**. You are forever moving forward. Do not mourn the times and places you cannot return to, for you can never return anywhere: you can only keep going, and trust that what's before you is better than what's behind. *except for being turned into energy, but that's only a different state; it can't be removed from existence even one tiny bit. **in a galactic frame of reference. Universally, it's even more true. You could use a planetary frame of reference and refute everything I said, but why would you want to think so small? 2
Garacesh Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 On a more cheerful note, every atom in our bodies beyond the hydrogen was forged in the heart of a star, and is fundamentally indestructible*, so everything we are will live forever. But the whole is so much more than the sum of it's parts
6Foot2 Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 We've all experienced everything. We're all the same person, just reincarnated into different time periods over and over and over. Sounds like "The Egg" by Andy Wier Link: The Egg 1
sonofsanta Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Sounds like "The Egg" by Andy Wier Link: The Egg Ooh, that was good. I liked that. I also hate him for coming up with such a good idea first.
Garacesh Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Sounds like "The Egg" by Andy Wier Link: The Egg Yus, I've read that one before.
jinnantonnixx Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) I agree it spooks me occasionally. And occasionally I have just what known what is going to happen in advance, e.g. A few years ago we were driving home from holiday when Mr gee40 got a message on his phone from his PA to call his boss. It was nothing out of the ordinary in tone and that message got left fairly regularly and the job had been going well. He had, to my irritation, been dealing with such things on holiday. Except I knew it was bad news this time... I was sure he had lost his job. Don't ask me why or how, I just did. Mr gee40 picked up his P45 next day having been made redundant. I don't want to trivialise your obviously real and profound experience, but this reminds of a subject brought up in classic lectures of Richard Feynman's "The Meaning of It All". Many people believe things from anecdotes in which there is only one case instead of a large number of cases. There are stories of different kinds of influences. Things that happened to people, and they all remember, and how do you explain that, they say. I can remember things in my life, too. And I give two examples of most remarkable experiences. The first was when I was in a fraternity at M.I.T. I was upstairs typewriting a theme on something about philosophy. And I was completely engrossed, not thinking of anything but the theme, when all of a sudden in a most mysterious fashion, there swept through my mind the idea: my grandmother has died. ... Immediately after that the telephone rang downstairs. I remember this distinctly for the reason you will now hear. The man answered the telephone, and he called, "Hey, Pete!" My name isn't Peter. It was for somebody else. My grandmother was perfectly healthy, and there's nothing to it. Now what we have to do is to accumulate a large number of these in order to fight the few cases when it could happen. It could happen. It might have occurred. Its not impossible, and from then on am I supposed to believe in the miracle that I can tell when my grandmother is dying from something in my head? "The Meaning of it All" is a series of three classic lectures by Richard Feynman. Absolute classics. They explore, in a non-technical style, the relationship between science and society and our everyday experiences. I prefer the audiobook version, as the text is a transcript of his speeches and as such it doesn't translate to print very well, but if you have any interest in how science affects us, they are a must read/listen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meaning_of_It_All#Synopsis Edited April 30, 2015 by jinnantonnixx 1
fiza Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 (edited) Was just reading this thread Jury Service When I got a message on my phone from my wife to say she has just been called for Jury service!!! Edited April 30, 2015 by fiza
jinnantonnixx Posted April 30, 2015 Posted April 30, 2015 Q. Do you know what would be weirder than coincidences like that? A. No coincidences! No coincidence? Statistics and the outrageously unlikely - physics-math - 18 March 2014 - New Scientist
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