Nick and Psy-Kosh: here’s a thought on Boltzmann brains.
Let’s suppose the universe has vast spaces uninhabited by anything except Boltzmann brains which briefly form and then disappear, and that any given state of mind has vastly more instantiations in the Boltzmann-brain only spaces than in regular civilizations such as ours.
Does it then follow that one should believe one is a Boltzmann brain? In the short run perhaps, but in the long run you’d be more accurate if you simply committed to not believing it. After all, if you are a Boltzmann brain, that commitment will cease to be relevant soon enough as you disintegrate, but if you are not, the commitment will guide you well for a potentially long time.
Nick and Psy-Kosh: here’s a thought on Boltzmann brains.
Let’s suppose the universe has vast spaces uninhabited by anything except Boltzmann brains which briefly form and then disappear, and that any given state of mind has vastly more instantiations in the Boltzmann-brain only spaces than in regular civilizations such as ours.
Does it then follow that one should believe one is a Boltzmann brain? In the short run perhaps, but in the long run you’d be more accurate if you simply committed to not believing it. After all, if you are a Boltzmann brain, that commitment will cease to be relevant soon enough as you disintegrate, but if you are not, the commitment will guide you well for a potentially long time.