O   O       it turns out we're immortal. it's a result of
 O OOO  O       quantum physics.
OO   O OO       
O   OO          now - DON'T GET ME WRONG. i'm not talking
OOOOOO  O       about some new-age-quantum-physics-ufo-bigfoot
 OO  O OO       immortality here. i'm talking about 2+2=4, so
  OOOO O O      we're immortal. i think it's really very freaky.
O O      O      
OOOO O O        first of all, you need to believe in the many
OO  OO   O      worlds interpretation (mwi) - more commonly know
 O OO  O O      as "the theory of parallel universes."
O   O OO O      
    O  O O      many people don't. but you should, really.
 O OO OO O      it provides the only reasonable explanation
    O OO        for quantum experiments - like the two slits
O OOO    O      experiment. before mwi, we had to say nonsense
   OO OOOO      like "photons are BOTH waves AND particles."
  OOO O O       what the hell does that mean? it's one or the
O     O OO      other, bub.
OOOOO OOO       
O  O            and anyway, nowadays people are building
O  OOOOO O      computers to take advantage of the parallel
  OOO OO        universes.  AND THEY WORK. so if you don't
OO O            believe in mwi - you'd better find some
 O OOOO O       explanation for why these computers are
OO OO OOO       computing 128 times faster than they ought to.
O  O   OOO      
O OOOO O        besides - Stephen Hawking believes in mwi. don't
O OO OOO        you trust him?
OOO    OO       
O O OOOOO       but we're not talking about mwi. we're talking
O O    O        about immortality.
  O O OOO       
OOOOO O OO      once you believe mwi - it's easy to see that
 OO   O  O      you're immortal. in some of the universes - VERY
OOO O O OO      FEW - of the universes, you magically (luckily)
O   O           survive all the nasty things that may happen to
O OOOOO OO      you. you don't get cancer. you don't walk down
O   O OOO       that dark alley. you don't get too close to that
O       O       cliff.
OO OOOO O       
    O O         and furthermore, in some of them, you don't seem
O O     O       to age as quickly. and in some of them, medical
OOOOOOO O       science makes discoveries 100 times faster than
OO  OOOOOO      normal.
 O  O O  O      
OOO     OO      you get the idea.
 OOOOOOO O      
 O  O OOOO      now - the clever thinkers among you will say
   OOOOO        "yeah, yeah, big deal. in SOME of the universes
 O  O    O      i am immortal, but in overwhelmingly most of
 O    OO        them, i'm not. chances are i'm in one where i
   OO  OOO      die."
OOOO  O OO      
   OO OOO       you're right, you're right. being immortal in
 O O   O        some small number of universes isn't terribly
   O O OO       interesting if there's virtually no chance of
 O OOOOOOO      actually experiencing it. (you think it's hard
OOOOOO          to win the lotto - try winning a universe in
OO OO  OOO      which you're immortal!)
O   OO O O      
OOO OO O        here's where the argument takes a subtle turn.
OO   O OOO      and i must confess, i'm not terribly good at
 OOOOO          conveying it.
OOO OOO OO      
O O O           i think (and others agree - we've all discovered
OOO   OO        this argument independently) you *will*
O      OO       experience the a universe of immortality. for
O O OO  OO      the simple reason: it's impossible to experience
  O  OOOO       a universe where you're dead. because you're
O O OOO O       dead.
OOOO O  OO      
OO O   OO       here's a thought experiment that helps to think
 O OO           about it. it's not mine - i've stolen it from
   OOOOOOO      someone else. when i can remember who it was,
 O O O   O      i'll give him credit.
 OOO   O O      
 O O O OOO      it goes like this: imagine you have a room
OOOOOO   O      with 10 computers - each of the computers is
 O    OO O      artificially intelligent. each of the computers
OOO OOO  O      is running exactly the same program, and they
  O     OO      all get exactly the same inputs, and none of
 OOO O OO       the computers can talk to any of the other
       OOO      computers. so, in fact, they all do EXACTLY the
OOOO O   O      same thing, all the time. it's kinda silly,
  O   O         actually, because they're all identical - it's a
OOOOO   O       waste, only one computer is necessary.
 O OOOO O       
    O OOO       so, in fact, despite the fact that there are
OOO    O        10 copies- there is only one intelligence. one
     O O        mind.
 O       O      
 O OO O  O      and if we switch off one of the computers, the
 O  O OO O      mind doesn't notice.
 OO O  O        
OOOOOOOOO       get it?