Ok, I have a hypothetical question this morning: Let’s say there are alternate universes (some people do, in fact, maintain that there are) meaning in this context that basically anything that can happen, would happen.
If anything that can happen does happen in another universe, that means that somewhere out there is the perfect you. The you you’ve always wanted to be. The you that made all the right choices, had the right amount of willpower, hard work, support, and luck to turn out to basically be this universe’s fantasy version of you.
Ok now, here’s the question: Are you jealous of yourself, or are you happy that somewhere out there you’ve really made it? Also, what does you fantasy self look like?
I don’t know how I’d feel knowing there’s a Loren Riley out there that has perfect skin, was never awkward, graduated top of her class in astrophysics, and is currently producing the next Star Trek franchise. I really just don’t know.
To get an idea on what a normal feeling would be, I asked some coworkers what they thought, and some interesting trends emerged: most people I asked didn’t care about themselves in an alternate universe, and most contended it doesn’t matter since we can never know anyway. But when asked how they would feel about a highly successful clone (i.e. the prefect you in this universe) the response was overwhelmingly negative. One of my coworkers even unhesitatingly declared he would find a way to kill himself if he found out someone had made a superhim in clone form.
So here’s the same question (how would you feel about a superior you in an alternate universe?) with some parameters:
- If we knew for certain that alternate universes exist, and therefore a highly successful version of you is likely to exist? (We can’t prove they exist and you have no contact with your alternate self, but you can assume a superior you exists.)
- If you knew without any doubt that this person absolutely existed in an alternate universe?
- If you could actually travel to the alternate universe and meet the highly successful version of yourself?
I’m curious to know what people think. It’s a question that’s been bugging me lately.
*Note: If you happen to be the best possible version of yourself in this universe, please disregard this post.
The Nerd Next Door 