If you want to know why

BillyMc
Thu, 26 May 2011 17:48:14 +0000

So here’s one thing to consider: out of all the time humans have been conscious in the modern sense (approximately 60,000 years or so)

How could you possibly determine how long human consciousness has existed?



right now (in the present) the world hosts the most consciousness’ it ever has.

But the population of subterranean supermen is severely dwindling!



So I had, therefore, a greater chance of being conscious now (in 2011) than any date before now.

Yes, because that one particular sperm and one particular egg only could have met at one time.



Now, imagine if trillions of people inhabited multiple planets, etc., in the future. Well that would make it quite unlikely that I (or you) would have been conscious now (it would be a lot more likely to be conscious in those future times).

No, see above sperm/egg comment. It would mean that if you put the names of all human beings who have hitherto existed into a pile and drew one out, the drawing would be much more likely to yield my name or yours today than in such a future as you describe.



But maybe my being conscious experience (and yours too) isn’t a statistical anomaly: maybe we do actually live when around the time that will be seen as the time when it was most probably to be alive.

You already beat the worst odds during conception.



If you think in chronological order or births of people that grow up to be conscious (because those are the only ones it makes sense to count), maybe we’re closer to the middle of the hypothetical list if there is a end to it (i.e in the future a last conscious person).

I hope that human consciousness exists for as long as possible.



@billy: no…

That’s basically how I read your OP.