If I am here now, what's stopping me from coming back again?

[Deleted]

Oh, on ur question: Ur unique DNA string is what prevents u from ever coming back.

Ahem. Identical twins? Clones?

Are they "you" just because they completely share your DNA? No.

[Spectral]

Oh, on ur question: Ur unique DNA string is what prevents u from ever coming back.

DNA sequence is overrated. Epigenetics and environmental factors are just as important in the development of an individual's hardwired characteristics.

[Deleted]

DNA sequence is overrated. Epigenetics and environmental factors are just as important in the development of an individual's hardwired characteristics.

So hed have to come back from the same mom and dad, with all of the exact same influences as before. Which is impossible because the parents will be older which means they will have different world views and parenting methods. So never.

[Keile]

So hed have to come back from the same mom and dad, with all of the exact same influences as before. Which is impossible because the parents will be older which means they will have different world views and parenting methods. So never.

It's not impossible...it's just extremely improbable.

[Deleted]

It's not impossible...it's just extremely improbable.

It's impossible, since two people can't be in the same spot at once. Especially without interacting with each other. Even with the same (kind of) friends and parents, there's still a load of difference in environment such as hormone levels and nutrition during pregnancy (which aren't identical even for identical twins), incidents/accidents, and the fact they'd need to be together while interacting in the exact same way all the time. Even naming them differently would be too much of an impact to call them truly identical.

It's not much less improbable than the chance of a barstool materializing above your head right this instant, due to quantum mechanical positional uncertainty of all its particles. (Although chances are, your friend threw it, instead.)

[Dezerte]

Your consciousness as it exists now is unique, and even if it were to be replicated atom by atom it would still not be you (imagine having a clone made, would you be both of them? Of course not). Your brain is however made out of atoms, and these atoms have been re-cycled for eons - everything from trees, water, dinosaurs and etc has re-cycled the same atoms, the only difference being the configuration they are in. So in that sense, the atoms in your body will be used again.

We are literally made from star dust.

[Deleted]

I wish I resurrect as another life form over and over again, sadly I'd never know because I cannot remember my previous lives if that's the case... But if it is the case though I hope none of my lives involves me being tortured or dying a painful death. In which case thank fuck for the fact that I don't remember my other lives because I'd be tormented to my bones. Wonder if any of these lives would be on other planets and in a non linear time span, or even as different species. Would be awesome to be a single cell being!

[Hypasonic]

The universe has been around for (as far as we know) 14+ Billion years, thats a damn long time. Our earth has been around for, I'm not sure exactly, maybe 4 billion years? How long has the human race been around on this planet? 100.000 years? Thats nothing, and yet I am here. Wow, amazing odds. Life is a repetitive cycle, I can't see how I could be here otherwise.

[Pony Soldier]

This is something I often think about too. I often just ask myself "why am I here? Why am I controlling this body?" It's really cool to think that you were the champion of the Spermites but then then I wonder, what if it was a different sperm cell? Would I still be living? Like, what is it that determines whether we are conscious or not? It just blows my mind thinking about it sometimes.

It's stuff like this that make me want to believe in reincarnation.

[openair]

But yeah, whenever I think about this...I always just think "I am alive now, so that is just how it is" Lets say my parents decided not to have children, I would be nothing, simply nothing. I would never be "born" I would not be alive, I would not be able to type this right now, but I AM alive I AM here and I AM typing this, so it HAS to be repeated. I would simply have come into existence at some other time, with some other "parents".

I kinda get confused about what I'm trying to portray here, it certainly does sound bonkers but I hope you understand where I am coming from. (Was watching a Vsauce video and I thought about this :P )

Being alive, here and typing this has no barring on anything being repeated in the future or past. You would not simply have come into existence with some other parents because their genetic material is different from your actual parents. Someone else would have come into existence with those other parents.

Also our experiences shape who we are. Our behavior, likes, dislikes and attitude are all shaped by our lives experiences. If you had "come into existence at some other time" with the same parents you would likely not be the same person you are today as your experience would have been different.

Of course I am speaking about reality and science. If you believe in magic fairy tale god(s) than have fun imaging whatever you want.

- - - Updated - - -

This is something I often think about too. I often just ask myself "why am I here? Why am I controlling this body?" It's really cool to think that you were the champion of the Spermites but then then I wonder, what if it was a different sperm cell? Would I still be living? It just blows my mind thinking about it sometimes.

If it were a different sperm cell, then you would likely not be quite the same person you are today. You would at least have a slightly different physical appearance as well as different underlying traits that would have affected the outcome of your lives experiences.

You want your mind blown? The following is something scientist use to give meaning to life to those who don't believe in magic, fairy tales, or god(s)...

Our bodies are made of elements forged in the heart of stars that exploded and died millions of millions of years ago and scattered those elements across the depths of deep space. Over another millions or so years those elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And so on and so forth for 13 billion years until they eventually formed sol, earth, trees, dogs, you.

If those stars exploded in a different pattern. If one lived a year longer. If my great great great grandmother wasn't raped but not murdered. If that stray bullet had hit your great grand father in WW1 instead of someone who will never meet's great grand father... You would not be here today.