What is the future?

 


Just as the past exists (as a series of now-slivers) so does the future. Futures, rather. Whereas there is only one past (for a particular present) there are multiple futures that lead out of it - the dandelion model. An infinite number of them lead out from any instant. Not only are they possible, but they are also actual. They all exist equally. Deciding on any particular future path does not nullify the rest.

The present sliver relates to the next one downstream - in the direction of less entropy - by a change in pixels such that the next slivers constitute a pathway according to physical laws. They must be slivers that could happen. That is, mass and energy must be conserved, there may be no faster-than-light movement. The set of futures self-select. And so forth, on to the next sliver.

Futures radiate about each successive sliver like a dandelion's structure. If time does not exist, then this has implications as regards the future. For instance, you do not 'create' or 'bring about' a particular future. That would imply change, and that would suggest that such a thing as time exists. Rather, all possible futures must already exist. All we do by choosing is to activate a certain stream.