I'm having trouble with the idea that
'time' is organized into discreet 'streams' – binary branching of
decisions great and small. That's not quite how decisions work.
If I decide to move across the room at
a certain time, there's a million different ways I could do it. Each
movement of each muscle could happen within a large range of speed,
strength and direction. Every position puts me in a different place
in the room, with a different vantage point. Anything I see could
influence what I do next – do I see a good book I haven't read in a
while? A movie I want to share with someone?
Any of those decisions could have a
range of options and consequences. Do I read the book all at once,
or break it up into any number of chunks? Where do I read it? What do
I miss by doing that, and not something else?
I think it makes sense that 'time' is
more of an evolving fractal. Leaves on a tree more than the
branches. Certain actions might influence the shape of the leaf, and
from there, future shape possibilities. Similar actions producing
results that are nearly indistinguishable from a certain viewpoint,
but, like the walking example above, might encourage some 'nubs' and
'prune' others – having a greater or lesser effect on future
configurations.
Going back in time would be like
running through a pile of leaves. Everything goes everywhere. You'd
never go back to 'your' 'timeline' because you've influenced the
fractal pattern in a billion different ways, even just by standing
around doing nothing.
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