life after death, abortion, why the universe exists, etc.

No children?
This thought experiment assumes you have children. A similar argument applies to any work that you pour yourself into. For example, an artist becomes immortal through her work.

I failed with my children?
This is all a great simplification of course. We actually influence many people in many ways. It's normal to fail at some things, but it's the average that counts.

Why does nature do it this way?
Why does biology do it this way and not just let your body regenerate directly? For the same reason that DNA benefits from two parents instead of one, and societies benefit from cooperation and competition.

As life goes on we accumulate damage, and our environment changes. It becomes very hard to survive, thrive, or be happy. So the universe makes us regenerate by mixing up the ideas and the genes, then the less bad ones are dropped and the good ones will multiply. Think of all the mistakes you ever made, and all the bad luck that's held you back: the universe has designed it so you get a fresh start every few years!

The proof: you can remember the last billion years
To prove you are immortal, look at your body and the way you act - half of it is genetic - that means it's based on hard coded memory in your DNA, some of it from billions of years ago! And what of our conscious memory? Thanks to the invention of archeology and writing we can now remember stuff that happened long before we were born!

The future
It all depends on LVT

LVT is inevitable
As discussed elsewhere, the first nation to adopt Land Value Taxation will see its wealth (and hence its power) increase at a much faster rate than its neighbors, year after year. Compound growth means that the LVT system will gradually make all other systems irrelevant.

LVT +20 years: Your own perfect society
As discussed elsewhere, LVT will lead to a political system where everyone can live in their own ideal mini-nation. As more nations adopt LVT the same principles spread over the globe, and similar mini-nations form alliances. Old borders become less important and the globe becomes a single meritocracy where the only law is what people want and are willing to work for.

LVT +50 years: A sustainable world
Wealthy people tend to have smaller families, so overpopulation is no longer a problem. As LVT spread through the world people are free to spread through the world, resulting in less crowing and fewer deserts. Having solved the pressing problems of poverty and war, people turn their attention to solving all other problems.

LVT +100 years: A world of villages, forests and castles
As discussed elsewhere, LVT leads to compact cities and a more attractive countryside. In effect, a world of villages and forests punctuated by futuristic castles. A fantasy dream world come true.

LVT +300 years: mankind populates the stars
With the entire world operating at near maximum economic efficiency, cost will be no barrier to human desires. So expect space tethers, commercial moon bases, and massive funds spent on exotic forms of space travel. Applying LVT to any discovered worlds will remove the danger of strip mining or space warfare.

LVT +300 years: Underground kingdoms and castles in the sky
With vastly greater wealth and opportunities, the pressure to increase the land value of the Earth's surface mean most people live either high above the Earth, or in picturesque cottages, tree houses, or vast man made caverns opening onto forest glades: the surface of the Earth becomes one giant park. Recently extinct animals are brought back.

Will machines become superior?
Our survival instinct will ensure that we evolve at the same rate as machines: using machines to augment our intelligence while ensuring they remain dependent on us. If a military madman secretly builds a more advanced army then that same survival instinct means news will leak out. LVT ensures a variety of states so one will have the resources and desire to rouse the others. Murphy's law means that even once machines are highly evolved there will still be weaknesses for a few years.

Heaven
As noted elsewhere, people live forever through regeneration, and the purpose of regeneration is to constantly improve everything. Eventually we create heaven on Earth. In the Old Testament they imagined a promised land of milk and honey, and today milk and honey is so plentiful that our biggest problem is obesity! We may not see it in the short term, but over the centuries famine is becoming gradually less common in every land.

Hell
Continuing the theme of living forever, if we do nothing for society or our children, if we leave nothing behind that others care about, we will be forgotten. This is the fading away of shadows that describes Old Testament Sheol or Gehenna, or the ancient Greek Hades.

Eternity: new heavens and new Earths
Continuing the theme of living forever, some of the rocks you walk on are also billions of years old. Perhaps that is why people feel so at peace on mountains and rugged landscapes. Your ancestors has been talking to these rocks since the sun was young, and thanks to technology your DNA and ideas can survive even after the sun explodes. Your regenerated selves will continue to walk these rocks after the rocks are reborn in new worlds. A few billion years is nothing between friends.

Why the universe exists
Because "nothing" is impossible

"Nothing" is impossible
The concept of nothing implies something. It requires something else to give it meaning.
(examples)
"Nothing in my hand" means my hand exists. "Nothing between the stars" means the stars exist (and incidentally, empty space is a seething froth of virtual particles appearing and disappearing, but that's another story). The number zero implies that the concept of numbers exist. A computer program with an empty set implies that the program exists, and so on.

"Nothing" implies "anything"
Nothing, on its own, is literally undefined. To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing can be said of nothing. So this nothing could be anything. All we know is that we do not know. And removing the "we" from the sentence, because it sounds like we've cheated and sneaked an observer in there, nothing is "the unknown."

"Nothing" implies "everything"
Since anything exists, but we can say nothing about it, then there are no limits. That nothing is everything at the same time.

"Nothing" implies logic
Although I have used words like "implies" this does not yet imply the whole thing is logical, because everything exists at once: both the impossible and the possible superimposed. In other worlds, illogic. However, since everything exists, that includes all possible systems of logic. The logical parts can ignore the illogical parts because, well, that's what logic does.

The universe is made of "if"s
Note that a logical system does not imply anything physical, it just means every possible abstract possibility of the most abstract kind. It just says "if this, then that" and all possible "ifs" are there.

This implies Occam's razor
Since everything can exist then small things are more common than big things. This is because big things are made of small things. This implies Occam's razor, which can be paraphrased as "if you have something and it could be a lot of things, it is probably the simplest thing."

This implies math
Now that we have all possible logical structure and the first rule (Occam's razor) we can look at other possible rules and the graphs and shapes that they imply. For example, if we have a number, why not a line of numbers? Or a line of lines, that makes an area? Add some simple addition rules and pretty soon we're calculating curves in multiple dimensions!

Math implies physics
Theoretical physicists have shown that the entire universe can only be explained in terms of math. For example, what we think of as a solid object is just forces (when you touch something you feel a force that stops your hand). And a force is merely a mass experiencing acceleration. And acceleration is just a change in distance over time (itself changing over time),. And space and time are just mathematical dimensions. It's all numbers really.

Which implies time
Time is just another dimension, or some similar mathematical function. I leave it to the theoretical physicists to work out the details, they're much smarter than me. Incidentally, clearly time does not flow because it would have to move past something else within a bigger framework called time. And how does that time flow? So all this flowing must be an illusion. Time is just the natural way to overlay alternate universes.

Why does time seem to connect and flow?
Why is time predictable? In other words, why is the time axis a smooth curve? It's Occam's razor again. Simple shapes like curves contain less information than complex shapes like random changes, and so will occur more often. This applies to the time graph just as much as anywhere else.
(Examples)
Any shapes that appear on the time axis of a graph are more likely to be smooth than chaotic, things tend to stay still or keep moving (inertia is a result of Occam), similar universes appear closer in time, quantum randomness is only noticeable on tiny scales (having a large number makes their probabilities more predictable), orbits are generally smooth curves, and so on.

Physics implies chemistry which implies biology, etc.
You know the rest.

All this implies quantum uncertainty
All of this happens in a background of "anything is possible" so there is room for random variation at any point. And chaos theory shows that tiny random changes can create fascinating and highly complex results. This "anything is possible "feature could be expressed as all kinds of quantum rules, one (or more) of which rules is part of our own universe.

Physics implies consciousness
All these mathematical structures are merely the sum of every possible point of view. In a simple example, if you are a number on a number line you know that one way is bigger and the other way is smaller. That's your point of view. But if you're a three dimensional point observing a ten dimensional matrix of chaotic fractals then your point of view is very interesting indeed. Every fundamental particle is a point of view. More on consciousness here.

And the particular universe we know and love
Since all possible universes exist and everything is a point of view, some of us will be points of view in very complex universes, complete with what we call time and color and so on. That's us. If you were a point of view in a simpler universe or in some dust particle in outer space then you would not be reading this, but you are reading it, so "hello!"

Consciousness
Consciousness is short term memory

We are only conscious of maybe seven things at once
Most of what happens in our brain is not noticed. At any given time we only notice things that are in our short term memory, and that can only hold maybe six or seven items. those items can quickly lead to other items, but at any one split second you only have the six or seven limit holds.

Consciousness equals short term memory
We are only aware of what is in short term memory, and without it any alternate consciousness is pretty meaningless, so applying Occam's razor: short term memory equals consciousness.

Obviously this depends on your definition of consciousness - I define it as the virtual "TV screen" that "you" look at. When sleeping you are "unconscious" but can still see events on this screen, taken from memory and imagination.

Who is the "you" that looks at your short term memory?
I argue in "why the universe exists" that every point in the universe is a point of view. Some of those points are the atoms in the cells that connect our short term memory. One of those atoms is "you." Which one? It doesn't matter. They work together. If one ceases to function the others continue and experience the same memories etc. The one that "dies" merely takes a more limited point of view. It does not remember its time in short term memory so is happy with its new job.

How can items in short term memory have shape and detail?
I am no biologist - possibly each item is a collection of other signals, but they work in groups. Each complex signal can be broken down into very simple parts. For example, I'm looking at the screen and I just see blobs of color.

Why do simple stimuli feel complex in the brain?
The short term memory is served with thousands of connections all the time. So "blob on screen" connects to "word" connects to "meaning" connects to "context" connects to "possible choice" and so on. Many simple ideas many times a second.

How can items in short term memory have feeling?
Feelings are very simple - just "want" or "don't want" at varying strengths, overlaid with memories that give context, and with other memories that suggest actions.

It feels more complex than that?
The complexity comes from the unconscious brain: billions of neurons connect to form an ever-changing model of your body and of all reality. The conscious part only sees tiny glimpses, but they include glimpses of ideas like "this is complex."

How can I make complex decisions if the conscious mind is so simple?
Decisions are seldom if ever conscious, in the sense that free will is involved. This can be shown experimentally (researchers know a person's decision before the person does), and can be easily proven theoretically. However, belief in free will is useful.

How do you prove that free will does not exist?
Logically, every decision must be either random or not. If it is not random then it can be predicted. There is no logical room for other possibilities.

Why do we have a conscious mind if it is not to make decisions?
The conscious part is presumably needed to serve the unconscious part that does make decisions. Technically every point is conscious - every point is a point if view - but most are very dull. The conscious part is far more interesting: it's the crossroads of reality, where the decisions and a simplified model of reality are all overlaid.

Why is this automated part conscious? Why not the decision making part?
Every atom is conscious of its own connections, but most are relatively simple. Speculation: Only the short term memory has enough overlaid signals to be aware of more than "move, stay, move, stay, keep orbiting, "

Why is belief in free will useful?
A robot that believes in free will automatically allocates more effort to automated decision making processes. This increases the quality of decisions and ensures better outcomes.

Does this make us happy?
We are designed to be happy - happiness is the message that things are going right. Do it right and you will be happy! On average, over the long term of course - all kinds of odd stuff can happen in between. That's why we need to be conscious, to deal with the unexpected.

Abortion
Arguing does not help, we need to SHOW who is right

It's a battle for hearts and minds
Neither side can convince the other through argument. So here is a solution that does not depend on arguing:

Where both sides agree
Both sides agree that their approach makes their society more attractive. Each side sees the other as full of unhappy women and unhappy children (either because they are unwanted or because their mothers are materialistic). So the correct side will be more attractive.

More evidence
Abortion is a wedge issue or litmus test for a whole range of issues. So pro abortion and anti abortion states would be very different: if they each got their way then one side would become significantly more attractive than the other.

The solution
So the solution is for each side to have their own state with their own laws. LVT allows people to do this. The more attractive state will gain more people and become economically more successful. Add the general attractiveness of the state and gradually more and more people defect from the bad state to the good state, until the bad state is not viable.

And if this doesn't work
Even if neither side attracted the other, abortion would end anyway: the pro-abortion state would have very easy contraception for all. If people have an abortion for convenience then they will avoid the problem in the first place for the same reason if contraception is convenient enough.

This approach can be tried right now
It would take years or LVT to mature into the multi state world, but the same principle applies on an individual level: you cannot change strong sexual desire or strong religious belief by force. But you can show that your friends/family/church has the kind of life they want. People change their views all the time in order to fit in with a group they want.

Torture
It always does more harm than good, in every possible situation

Summary
Torture allows one person to force one other person to cooperate. However, it persuades millions of others to hate you.

There is no reliable evidence that torture works
Torture takes place in secret so there are no reliable studies. Torturers may have anecdotal evidence, but this is swamped by the overwhelming anecdotes that it does not work.

Torture is a sign of weakness
The weakest nations feel the need to torture the most: therefore torture is an indication of weakness.

Anecdotal evidence says this is counterproductive
In the last "good war" -World War II, the allies did not use torture yet obtained very good information by gaining trust. There are anecdotal reports of previously helpful detainees ceasing to give information when tortured, or just saying anything regardless of truth - which wastes resources in chasing dead ends.

The ticking bomb scenario
If it is known that a person has placed a ticking bomb, and you torture them, then they may save those particular lives. However, this will lead to more bombs being placed in future. This is why:

1. It has never happened
The "ticking bomb" scenario has never happened, and probably never will. How would you get such perfect knowledge?

2. For every partial success many people are tortured.
Information is never perfect. For every successful use of torture there are many unsuccessful ones.

3. It doesn't work most of the time
Any subject who is willing to blow himself up us unlikely to be scared by threats.

4. It destroys trust
It all takes place in secret, and is lied about, so millions of people now assume that you lie (and torture) routinely.

6. Millions of people are waiting to be radicalized
"Extremists" by definition are the extremes of a much larger group. Your injustice makes them hate you more.

Result: for every bomb you partially prevent, you push several people over the edge to create more.

Animal rights
Causing pain is always wasteful, or worse

Reasons to not hurt animals
1. It shows you have no blanket opposition to cruelty. That makes you more dangerous to people.
2. Some people are animal lovers These people will especially avoid you.
3. It shows a lack of intelligence - that you cannot see the complexity in animals.
E.g. pigs have the intelligence of young children, and all animals engage in complex behaviors.
4. It shows a lack of ambition - statistically, wealthier people are more interested in animal welfare.
5. It gets inferior results. Happy animals produce better work, more entertainment, better meat, etc.

Reasons given for hurting animals
They don't feel pain?
Mammals have the same pathways as humans, but even the simplest animals make choices to aid survival, so must all have some neural pathway to detect if something is wrong: this is called pain.
They are morally inferior?
They are not the one doing harm - morally they are superior
Animals cause each other pain?
So do people. Should we hurt people as well?

Vivisection (animal experiments)
This nearly always causes suffering and distress purely to save money. E.g. by keeping animals in cages when a natural environments would make them happier, though be more expensive (e.g. to avoid contamination). LVT provides more money to society, and by solving human problems it increases interest in other problems like animal welfare.

Cruelty and poverty
The worst cruelty takes place in poor nations. LVT solves the problem of poverty.

Habitat destruction
Numerically, the most animals suffer because of the destruction of habitat, usually associated with poverty. LVT ends poverty, puts the the true value on land, and charges those who reduce the value of land for future generations. So LVT ends habitat destruction. Long term, LVT leads to a much greener world - see the future.

Weird stuff
Examples of mind bending ideas.

The supernatural
The "natural" word is nature, or the entire universe, by definition. The universe is, by definition, everything that affects us, so the supernatural cannot exist. However, our brains are limited so some things will seem very weird. personally I find heavier than air flight to be utterly amazing, but I am assured that it is not really magic.

The matrix hypothesis
How do you know you are real and not just a brain in a vat of chemicals, wired up to a computer that delivers data to the parts of your brain that you think are connected to your senses?

"The answer is Occam's razor" I hear you say. Such a situation would be extremely complex and usually pointless, so would almost never happen. Or would it?

The "brain in a vat" is simpler than it sounds
Most of the brain is not conscious, so the brain in the vat would only need to be a handful of cells. And those cells, like the whole universe, are simply representations of pure information. The real "you" could exist in software.

Brains and games
As computers progress there will be billions of separate computer games, with more computer generated characters than real people. Each character is programmed to act as if it had free will, just as we are.

The matrix hypothesis
The artificial world will seem perfectly real, because it is all the artificial person can ever experience. So we have no way of knowing if our particular world is a game in a higher world.

As computers progress, there will be vastly more "artificial" people than "real" people. Given that we do not know if we are real or artificial, statistically we are far more likely to be artificial.

This is actually a good thing.
However, since all reality is information and time does not flow, the artificial world is just as real is the "real." And the whole purpose of a game is to be more interesting than the "real" world. And don't mock games - young people, like young lions, play in order to learn.

Dog created Man?
Here's another theory that I read in a reputable science magazine. I don't remember the details but you can Google it.

Big noses are important. They let us smell food and danger. Neanderthals had big noses. So do wolves. Some wolves started living with humans and became dogs. They had better noses than humans, so humans didn't need theirs so much. This allowed us to use that resonating face space for making more complex sounds instead. This led to more speaking, which led to more complex thinking, more complex societies, and finally to dog food in a tin. So next time you go out to work and see your adorable and well fed dog sleeping by the fire, think about it. Dog created man, dog loves man, and man loves and serves dog. hey, I'm not trying to be blasphemous here. I'm a pantheist: it's good to see another's point of view, it's good love nature, because we're all in this together.

All other tough questions
With LVT and a dictionary you can answer anything

Abstract questions? You need a dictionary.
The answer to most abstract questions is contained in the words used.
Examples:
* What is morality? It's the rules defined by a society, so just ask society.
* What is truth? It's adherence to a rule, so truth (in abstract) means consistency. I.e. pure logic.
* What is property? It's what exists because a thing exists.
* Philosophical arguments? They all depend on the precise definition of the words.

Personal questions? You need LVT.
Personal problems are all solved by having friends. Love, friendship, acceptance, advice, etc. are all provided by genuine friends who understand you and care about the things you care about, friends who talk and help each other. In other words, you need your ideal society where people share your values. LVT provides that.

Complex problems? You need LVT.
Some problems are so complex, or so emotional, that debates or tiny experiments won't help. You need to try the full scale idea and see what happens. LVT allows people to try out their ideal society and then others can see the results.

Economic problems? You need LVT.
Let's face it, most problems are easier to solve if you have more money, and this is where LVT excels.