Suppose a man in a black hat came to you at night and fanned a deck of cards before you on the floor, face down.
He then tells you, “Pick the right card or everything you know will cease to exist.”
Then he leaves.
Your first impulse might be one of panic, or of a frenzied gathering of information – will the last look on his face tell me which card to pick? The way he exited the room? The grin he left me with? Is there a clue?
Ultimately you will realize that it doesn’t matter which card you pick, because you can’t ever know which will be a right choice, and which will be a wrong choice.
So you pick one.
If you pick the right one, you’ll know because you’ll still exist, holding it.
If you pick the wrong one, you’ll never know it because you’ll instantly cease to exist. You won’t care, because you won’t be able to.
If the man wasn’t magical at all and was simply a bum off the street with a crazy idea, you’ll think you picked the right one.
