Of course, there’s no reason to strictly believe that what you thought was a future version of yourself wasn’t either lying or a simulacrum of some kind, or that any note you receive after intending to send a note back to yourself hasn’t been intercepted and subverted.
Which leads to interesting stories when those expectations are subverted, but only after they’ve been established.
What makes you think that elaborate passphrases are uncountably infinite? Any loop that includes a ‘we await confirmation that the plan has succeeded before we implement it’ clause at the beginning is virtually foolproof. In order to foil such a plan, one needs to overcome the adversary, prevent them from signaling failure (ever!), and then manage to signal success. (So that the plan is set into motion.)
Of course, there’s no reason to strictly believe that what you thought was a future version of yourself wasn’t either lying or a simulacrum of some kind, or that any note you receive after intending to send a note back to yourself hasn’t been intercepted and subverted.
Which leads to interesting stories when those expectations are subverted, but only after they’ve been established.
True! That’s why every twelve-year-old establishes elaborate passphrases for identifying alternate / time-displaced selves.
What makes you think that elaborate passphrases are uncountably infinite? Any loop that includes a ‘we await confirmation that the plan has succeeded before we implement it’ clause at the beginning is virtually foolproof. In order to foil such a plan, one needs to overcome the adversary, prevent them from signaling failure (ever!), and then manage to signal success. (So that the plan is set into motion.)