Okay, I was talking with a friend about different possibilities. Like when you turn left rather than right, what could have happened? That sort of thing. And my friend says to me when you think about it, we’re all mass murderers since every time we make a decision we “kill” all the potential offspring we could have had or those we would have affected would have had. That got me thinking what would happen if you could know what the outcome of your decisions would be.
So the debatable question is, if your grown kid came back from the future and said he/she was the result of a consummation with someone you knew but didn’t care for (or any situation you would have avoided normally), would you feel obligated to meet up with this other person so your future kid would exist?
See, the question is with any near-relationship we pass up, how do we know what the future of those relationships could be? If those potentials were made manifest so we could see what we would be denying, could we in good conscience deny their existence just for our happiness? Most of us wouldn’t hesitate to give a sacrifice to help our real children. If you could meet your “potential” children, would you do the same?
Hmmm, and this is the first impression I’m gonna make. I’m not usually this weird, honest.
If you really think about it, you are screwed. You might help the kid that came back from the future, but going that route might wipe out the possibility of many others. So you might help 1, but end up killing 50 others that could have existed.
Personally, I would not want to know about the future. Better to regret what you did then what you could do. Like my SO says “If it was meant to be, then it would happen.”
The problem is, there are so many different outcomes that you cannot save them all… or even any more than one of them. It’s too bad, but there’s a whole lot of good that you’ll never get to do in your life. There are a vast many things you’ll miss out on… the girl you never went out with, the person of great character you never paid attention to, the friend you never made.
The solution: Plan ahead. Learn from the mistakes of others. Do the most good you can do. Pay attention to the world and the people around you… you may be surprised what you’re missing.
But don’t overplan, or overthink. You can’t keep all the possibilities open. Eventually, you’re going to have to pick a course, and sail it. The couse where you sit and worry about which is best is not the best one. Try to do the best you can in deciding, and have no regrets.
On the other hand, if you were presented with all the possibilities, you would be able to pick the best one (assuming you could make sense of it all). You will be forced to sacrifice all but one, so make it good.
You’re both right. You can’t live your life worrying about what might be. But what I was poorly trying to steer towards is if you were presented with a living, breathing person from one of those choices, then would you be compelled to take that course of action, effectively taking the choice from your hands? Or say, forget it, it’s my life. I’ll won’t let this guy/girl decide for me like I wouldn’t all the other “potentials”. I don’t if I’m explaining it well but do you see what I’m vaguely angling at? Definitely for the best that something like this couldn’t happen. It’s not a choice I’d want to make.
Maybe this will help you. I am not really sure which science this, but it has been theorized as possible that whenever we make a decision that two new universes are created (let’s hope it isn’t 36 when you decide on the flavor of ice cream cone you want). In other words if you think you decided to go right, there is another universe where you decided to go left. Therefore there is a universe where that child exists. I am not saying I believe this or that anyone does, but am only answering your improbable question.
Welcome to the board with your wonderful, though confusing, argument for effective birth contol and the wisdom of not sleeping with people you don’t care for.
