Is death the only thing guaranteed in our lives?

Use this forum to discuss the July 2021 Book of the month, " Worldlines: A Many Worlds Novel" (Many Worlds, #1)" by Adam Guest
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Sushan Ekanayake
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Re: Is death the only thing guaranteed in our lives?

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Mason Garrod wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 11:17 Of course some people think like that. I do think it's important to think about death as something inevitable and try to take away some of the fear factor of it by coming to terms with it. But certainly fixating on only death is an unhealthy and nihilistic way to live, nothing in life is guaranteed exactly but whatever does happen makes all the difference. I think it's very relevant to the story because in order to portray the other side of the coin, you have to consider the alternative first to put everything in context
Yes, though death is inevitable you do not have to think over it again and again and become depressed. You can choose how to live your short yet valuable life.

And what if the alternative of quantum immortality that this author suggests is true? Then living well won't be in vein as you can continue to have it in different universes and different bodies, but keeping your soul as a continuum.
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Post by yomide »

Sushan wrote: 13 Jul 2021, 13:42
Ellylion wrote: 03 Jul 2021, 13:07 The whole idea of so called quantum immortality is very engaging. It's even philosophical, I would say :) I learned about it from this book, and I'm very grateful to the author for this. But, yes, people use to say that death is the only thing that's guaranteed. The author tried to show that human consciousness can travel from one universe to other, thus being immortal.
Yes, the author has taken into light an interesting theory, the quantum iimmortality. Though a subjective experience of death can be felt by anyone, objectively your consciousness will be transferred to another universe, making this quote about death valid no more.
That, that is unfathomable. If truly our consciousness drift to another universe after death, then we aren't really dead, are we? We might seem dead to everyone else, but we are all but dead.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

B Creech wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 15:36 I don't think it was relevant to the story, but I agree that death is the only thing that is guaranteed. But I believe that only means the death of these bodies we are dwelling in, not death of the soul. I have never heard anyone say that quote before, but I have heard the statement "The only things we have to do is pay taxes and die!"
What you say is quite spiritual, and there are many people who actually believe that in death only the body dies but not the soul. And this book the author takes to the light a similar concept, but with a scientific background. And he opens his book with this sentence because towards the end of his story he is going to disprove it.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Sasha_100 wrote: 04 Jul 2021, 20:49 When you regard things from the perspective of Worldlines' inner workings then maybe not. But realistically I do think that death is the only guaranteed thing in our lives.

Anyone can live their lives however they want but we all will die someday.
Yes, that is the irony I think that the author wants to show. He brings forth a common fact and through the inner workings of the world lines proves that such common and well accepted facts can be disproved by his theory.
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Post by Sharill Rasowo »

Nobody can escape death. It is a fact of life that we cannot ignore, so this statement is correct. However, I did not quite get its relevance to the story being told. Another thing guaranteed in life is taxes, but people have found ways to go around that.
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Post by Divya Tamilselvan »

I have heard people say the statement, "Death is the only thing guaranteed in our lives". But I don't think like that. I think living a life is guaranteed too. We will have to live first to die. And I don't think the statement is relevant to the story.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Fahad Baibras wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 01:35 I have heard a lot of people say that, and its obviously true as well, but with the scenarios presented in the book there would always be a universe where someone always stays alive and survives every incident that might prove fatal for them in any other universe. So yes, yes it might not be the only thing guaranteed.
Exactly. This quote is what an ordinary person will comprehend about the life. But the author has gone ahead one more step and has seen (actually imagined....or is it for real 🤔) another possibility for the life, the quantum iimmortality. And at the end this ordinary and seemingly true quote has become doubtful.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Cazrichmond wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 06:11 It is factually correct but not a statement we routinely say. Living is also guaranteed in this life. I think the statement is relevant to the story though and is a good way to begin this novel.
Well, life is guaranteed in a way but death is a certain thing. But that is only for the ordinary people who live in the ordinary world, and not for those who live in this book and also for those who believe in this book. And yes, it is a great way to start a book, and for this particular book too as the author disproves it towards the end of the story.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Tushar Swami wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 08:10 Although this fact that death is guaranteed is not relevant to the book, but it's a fact. Death is guaranteed and is inevitable, but it is not true that it is the only thing guaranteed. Love, happiness, grief all are inevitable things we have to face at some point in our lives.
I think this quote is relevant to the book, as the story goes against the inevitability of death with the theory of quantum immortality.

And for the rest of your comment, yes, there are many possibilities other than death. But are they certain abd inevitable as same as the death?
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Buk Nerd wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 12:08 I don't know about people saying anything like that as this is the first time I have come across such a statement. While I don't think like that, the statement does ring true - everyone and everything ultimately dies. I'm not sure I see the relevance to the story.
People do not always say or think like that. But they act and live like they live forever. So this is a good reminder for everyone. And, yes, it is true as well.

But I do not agree with you regarding the relevance of this to the story. The author reminds us this fact because his intention is to disprove that.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Jagiine wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 14:14
Sushan wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 00:17
Death, the only thing in life that is guaranteed. That’s what people say and that’s what we all think. However, what if it isn’t?
(Location 26 of Kindle version)

The author gets a start to his story with the above statement. He says that 'people say so'. Do actually people say like that? Do you too think like that? What is the actual relevance of this statement to this story?
I've heard this before though not very commonly, and I more often hear it as "death and taxes." The truth of the statement I think depends on your interpretation of the meaning of death. Does death have to be final? Your death or another creature's? Another person's? The thought of death? Physical? Spiritual? Relational? Does metaphorical death, such as the death of dreams, count? Perhaps my thinking is too high minded, but it has left me without a concrete answer. In terms of relevance, I believe that's stated pretty early in the story when the theory of quantum immortality is raised. As society has become more "advanced," we've come to question facts and reality in more and more ways, looking for loopholes not only in the systems we've built but in the universe itself. Is death actually inevitable? Or is that just a belief we've taken on because of the perspective we have of reality?
Your reply reminds me of the movie 'The Matrix', in which the people die in a world where their bodies does not actually present, but because of their mere perception of being dead. Maybe that has something to do with this theory of quantum iimmortality. What if our deaths are mere perceptions and subjective experiences while our souls remain to continue its course in another universe?
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Post by Kavita Shah »

On any timeline there will always be death. No matter how, who and where but death comes irrespective of all the factors. It is little adding to the story it can be pondered upon. Can a person dead in one universe be alive in another, be safe from death? Sounds impossible to me.
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Sushan wrote: 01 Jul 2021, 00:17
Death, the only thing in life that is guaranteed. That’s what people say and that’s what we all think. However, what if it isn’t?
(Location 26 of Kindle version)

The author gets a start to his story with the above statement. He says that 'people say so'. Do actually people say like that? Do you too think like that? What is the actual relevance of this statement to this story?
Well, I have said something similar multiple times. My version is that the only things in life that are guaranteed are birth and death. It is up to us to choose what we do in between. I have heard many other people saying this, too. So yes, I think it has a seed of truth in it.

Using such a statement at the beginning of the book is the author's attempt to get the reader curious about what is yet to come. The thought of another possibility is intimidating, and using it like this is a clever way to hook the readers to the story. It certainly got me hooked. :reading-6:
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Post by Sarrikoziol »

I've heard people say "the only thing guaranteed in life is death". It is true to some aspect. I mean we can be cautious and try to prolong the inevitable, but it Death eventually comes for us all. It is relevant I the book. With multiverses, each branch has different endings. Eventually, all the characters will die. It is just a matter of how.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

El_limitless wrote: 05 Jul 2021, 23:58 Nobody does without first living. Yeah, death is guaranteed, but life is equally guaranteed as well. So I'd say the author is correct to the extent that death is guaranteed but not the only guaranteed thing in life.
I agree. You should live first and then only you can die. So death is always preceded by life. There is no argument against that. But in this story this fact has been disproved. Here a life can be succeeded by not death, but by a life, and that is called quantum immortality.
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