[aschismatic]

I've had a lot of thoughts similar to yours. I especially wonder about the linear qualities we often attribute to life and death, and potentially rebirth. We often assume that if we are somehow reborn, it will be in the future. But what if I am reborn while I still exist, just somewhere else? After all, time is simply another dimension, right? At least, as we humans understand it.

Your comparison to computing, functions, and shared memory is very good at describing that. But to go even further, since computers as we know them still run in a linear fashion with regards to time (forward), what if all consciousness across all time and space is just one "thing?"

[nlh]

I love this. And it adds a whole new dimension (ha ha) to the thinking.

And you're right - it starts to get really wild when you remove the linear constraint. Or even the singular universe constraint. Think about a multiverse, where not only are there other people in this one timeline experiencing things, maybe there are multiple (infinite) simultaneous timelines. Or, as you said, not even timelines. Multiple infinite states of being.

I think perhaps the most comforting part of trying to "figure it all out" is the realization that we're, in all likelihood, woefully incapable of really ever figuring it all out, especially if "reality" (whatever that is) looks nothing like the tiny, single-brained, single-universed, linear timeline perspective that we have.

[aschismatic]

Woefully incapable indeed. But at the same time, the inability to know or understand the entire nature of our universe creates an eternal, enchanting mystery, and drives our search for meaning in life. I find it romantic.