Expectations of Continuity

Lonnie Mandigo - 2023-01-03

I’ve been pondering our expectations of continuity.  It’s so fundamental to our behavior that the notion of “behavior” is impossible without it. 

There are those who’ve speculated that there is no continuity. What we perceive as reality and the passage of time is just an instantaneous snapshot, complete with all the memories and data that make us believe that time has passed.  There’s no way to know that I’m aware of. There’s no way to prove that time exists.  All we can hope to prove is that the notion of time is consistent with all the other aspects of this universe that we’re “aware” of.

My personal pondering of continuity stems from my increasing awareness of how rich yet how fleeting life is. With the passing of my parents and others around me I’ve become increasingly aware of the footprint that we leave in our society and on this planet. We leave a lot of stuff for others to deal with.  I don’t know that that’s a bad thing but the form of that stuff matters.  In the extremes, it can be a valued legacy or an annoying nuisance to those who follow us.  Typically, though it’s some blend along a spectrum.  Being aware of this I want to set the dial to more valued than annoying if I can.

My strategy is to identify and create “entities” in my life.  An entity is something that has the potential to take on a life of its own.  These entities are defined, documented, and to the extent possible automated.  Ideally, they become bounded buckets that my heirs can decide will continue to live, die, or be transformed when the entity that is me ceases to be active.  It’s an interesting experiment where, by definition, I can’t know the outcome.  Hopefully, it will be a good thing.

Random picture of my server rack in my basement.