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3xplo t1_jdpxjvi wrote

I honestly just had this thought yesterday. Why was I born in such a time to witness humanity getting there? When I was born, PCs weren't even a thing yet. Seems a bit too weird to be just coincidence. Maybe it is though.

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beezlebub33 t1_jdqecpn wrote

Simply a variation of the lottery fallacy: Something unlikely but wonderful happened, therefore I must be special.

But logically, someone must eventually win, and it's just blind luck which one it is. You are a bundle of short cuts, rough approximations, and biases that just happens to do well in the world. Let's hope that our progeny can do better.

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D_Ethan_Bones t1_jdq04wi wrote

Me and technology:

1: Videogame system where you wrap wires around screws to hook it up. The game collection was a ripoff of what was popular at the time, simulated paddles knocking a ball back and forth. All the games on the system worked that way.

2: Room full of people gushing out loud over the advancements of Mario Bros 2. Health points, improvised weapons everywhere, chose your character and they actually play different!

3: Super Nintendo and Playstation, dreams of being a game developer.

4: "What harm is a little bit of procrastination going to do?"

5: "Why is the talking DOS better at stuff than I am?"

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Smart-Tomato-4984 t1_jdqrr52 wrote

And the people who procrastinated about becoming an illustrator! That one's basically gone.

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Smart-Tomato-4984 t1_jdqrb7s wrote

It's estimated that 1 in 20 people who have ever lived are alive right now. Not that bad odds.

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Dustangelms t1_jdsffzi wrote

Why are you not counting people that will live?

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Smart-Tomato-4984 t1_jdtehm9 wrote

I don't know how many people will live.

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Dustangelms t1_jdwjo8i wrote

Yes. But the odds must include them. So the calculation is off by nobody knows how much.

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Smart-Tomato-4984 t1_je0l9ky wrote

I'm not convinced. Whatever the future holds, I think that being born now vs any time in the past has 1 in 20 odds.

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Dustangelms t1_je0v7ge wrote

That is true. However that's not how the question was posed. The question was: what are the odds that I, as a self-conscious entity whatever that is, get to experience myself in this time (and place)?

What is the reason behind limiting possible outcomes only by the humans that were born up to current time? I can't find any. Just because some humans weren't born yet doesn't mean they won't be. Someone from the future will ask themselves the same question: what are the odds for this lucky person to be born on the brink of 21st century? If the answer changes because they now know about more humans being born, then the answer is wrong.

Actually, I find no reason to be limited by only humans. There could be other self-conscious entities in the universe or multiverse. Why not count them?

So the question can't really be answered.

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