Why are we so early?

post by Flaglandbase · 2022-04-04T08:49:03.103Z · LW · GW · 0 comments

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Countless people have wondered about one of the most obvious cosmological puzzles.   It's a very simple question with no answer:
If the universe could exist forever, why do we exist almost as close to the beginning of time as possible?

Some very sophisticated [LW · GW] attempts have been made to answer it, including what is known as "Doom Soon" (we exist this early because we don't have a future).

However, our existence is biased by the physical universe in which we are embedded. There are many reasons to think human minds are NOT a random selection from the list of all possible minds (for example, most possible minds would be absurd and infinite).
Our type of universe may be able to generate and vastly amplify our mind type, to the extent that we outnumber all other mind types everywhere else. The only thing that makes us special is how common we are. Commonness implies simplicity implies a brief past.

The existence of an undeniable "Earlyness Bias" in our existence also suggests we are not ancestor simulations. 
Well we are, as our minds are a blend of all possible instances everywhere - but only an infinitesimal fraction of these instances are ancestor simulations.
This is indicated by the fact we have only a brief past. If there will be an infinite future, there will be infinitely more advanced ancestors to simulate than us. There would be fewer reasons to simulate early ancestors. Simulating us would be like solving 1 + 1. 

(This also implies that if you actually are an ancestor simulation, you are most likely being simulated in the nearest future when that technology can exist.)

The explanation for why we live in a young universe may be that our type of universe is extremely easy to generate. Much easier than suspected from studying quantum chromodynamics or string theory.

Reality may be entirely mathematical, the only real thing being logical functions. While our physical universe is vast, it may be a result of a very simple and abundant equation.
New universe equations are constantly sprouting off from logical functions within our own universe and everywhere else. If every older universe is constantly spinning off new ones, most observers would find themselves in young universes.

A mathematical equation that could generate something like a universe is still far beyond us. Conway's Game of Life or Mandelbrot fractals don't even come close. 
For all we know, it might emerge from itself in an evolutionary process, and even give rise to mindlike structures to sustain itself. Or the process may be too simple to understand, based on the most essential logic.

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