EDIT: Why the barrage of downvotes? I thought that was reserved for rude and ignorant posts/people. I know that our beliefs about death are deeply personal, so please know this is not meant as an attack on your beliefs. The point of this was to have an open discussion about a shower thought I once had that brought logic to the argument of life after death. So far this logic has not been refuted- people have acknowledged the odds of my hypothesis, instead deferring their attacks to the concept of a simulation, or other various and far less significant details. So if you are new to this thread, you have my welcome and thanks, and I hope to see you respond in an open-minded way (whether or not you agree with my hypothesis)so that we can have an intriguing discussion. And I ask that you consider were this a simulation, that the job of any simulation is to immerse you. So if you are filled with a feeling of general resistance, but find no reasonable flaws with the logic presented, consider that this could be your default programming, a sort of failsafe protocol of the simulation. Like Dr. Strange was instructed a moment before he was sent hurdling through the unknown, you will need to “OPEN YOUR MIND”
About 15 years ago I had a shower thought that changed my life. I was reflecting on time and the present moment in particular, and had an epiphany that eventually convinced me that this reality is an illusion and consciousness must extend beyond death. The weird part though was that my brain had comprehended the concept in a way that I could not articulate, at least not for a very long time. When I tried to explain it to others I would struggle to illustrate my comprehension, and could see the lack of understanding in their faces.
For years I left it, keeping it as a personal belief but not bothering to discuss it. Then one day I paired walking through a backyard forest with a microdose of shrooms and a friend, and I decided to bring it up. This time I managed to articulate it in a way that I could tell resonated with him. I wrote it down, and started to refine it further. Skip to today and I now possess a much more clear and concise way to present my hypothesis, and have two friends , two family members and a significant other who now all not only understand it, but have adapted it into their personal belief (my intent in telling them was only to have an open minded discussion, I have no desire to change anyone’s personal beliefs, but this was really cool to see).
So I’ve linked a video where I articulate my hypothesis to the best of my ability, with visuals to help. I would love your open-minded feedback- whether it’s pushback on any of the points I make, or if you think there’s a better way I could make them.
Thanks for taking the time!
TL:DR I once had an epiphany that provided me with sound logic as to why consciousness must persist beyond death, indicating that another dimension exists outside of this one. It took me a long time to find a way to articulate it, but now I finally have a presentation of the concept that I’m happy with (via the linked video)
First off thank you for responding logically. The forbidden equation differs from the dartboard paradox in one key way, and it’s that there’s a great significance to where the dart had landed. It didn’t just land anywhere on that dartboard, it landed in the one exact spot where you have consciousness, and everywhere else on that dartboard you do not have consciousness, which is a great significance to you obviously. And really “you” is all we can truly consider here, as anything outside of “I think therefore I am” can be questioned, meaning we don’t truly know if anyone else actually exists. It’s important to make that distinction and separation- that we shouldn’t put so much faith into what can be observed with our 5 senses. Once one considers this could be the simulation Bostrom says it is, or the illusion of Maya as referenced by Hinduism and Buddhism, or the shadows in Plato’s cave allegory, or that they are all one and the same, then instead of a dartboard paradox, the forbidden equation instead serves as a strong indication that this is the truth. Instead of being an extremely improbable anomaly, it now becomes the only sure indication that death does not mean what this reality tells you it means.
It’s really not as crazy as it may first sound. All this is really saying is that time is not linear, which though we perceive it that way, we already are at least partially acknowledging via Einstein’s theory of relativity. I’m suggesting there exists a dimension outside of this one in which time works differently. If time can move in all directions, or is eternal in that dimension, and our consciousness draws from that dimension, then that both solves the forbidden equation and provides an answer as to how our consciousness can continue to exist.