INFORMATION AND MEANING

Introduces the key scientific ideas behind MBT, explained simply so everything feels easier to understand.

🟣

ACT I — Information and digital reality

We begin by asking what “digital” really means in MBT.

Before we talk about “you”… we need one key idea

MBT starts with a strange (but useful) possibility: reality may behave like an information process.

🔀 Question 1: But… what does “digital” mean?

A) “Digital” means reality is a fixed recording that we simply replay.
B) “Digital” means discrete information processed step by step, like bits.
C) “Digital” means reality is an illusion with no rules or structure.
D) “Digital” means reality is made of tiny electronic devices.

If reality is digital… then what is it made of?

Not “stuff” — MBT points to something more basic: information.

🧾 Question 2: So… what is information in MBT?

A) Information is whatever a human observer thinks is important.
B) Information is any difference or pattern the system can register.
C) Information is only meaningful human knowledge, like ideas or beliefs.
D) Information is the physical matter things are made of.

But information isn’t experience

So the next step is key: how does information become the reality you actually perceive?

🧠 Question 3: What has to happen for information to become our perceived reality?

A) Information becomes experience automatically without any processing.
B) Information must become physical particles that we then perceive.
C) Information must be processed and rendered into experience for a consciousness.
D) Information must be stored in memory before it can be experienced.

⚙️ Question 4: What is the result of the system’s processing?

A) A finished physical object called “the universe.”
B) A coherent, rule-based structure of possible and actual events.
C) A collection of personal experiences.
D) A complete list of all possible futures.

🔀 Question 5: What is the result of consciousness processing?

A) A lived, subjective experience from a particular point of view.
B) A perfectly objective picture of reality as it truly is.
C) A copy of the system’s internal data structures.
D) A random dream-like hallucination with no structure.

So what’s the smallest “unit” of information?

If reality is digital, it must be built from minimal distinctions… like 0/1, yes/no.

🧩 Question 6: What is a bit?

A) A unit of meaning, like a word or a symbol.
B) A minimal difference the system can register to represent a state.
C) A tiny physical particle that carries information through space.
D) The smallest unit of information: a basic distinction like 0/1 or yes/no.

🧠 Question 7: How do bits combine to produce complex information?

A) By being arranged into structured sequences and relationships.
B) By randomly accumulating until something meaningful appears.
C) By forming patterns that follow the system’s rules.
D) By being interpreted by consciousness before they form patterns.

🧩 Question 8: How does the system use bits to update the state of the universe?

A) By changing everything continuously and smoothly at all times.
B) By selecting a random new state at each moment.
C) By representing the current state, applying rules, and computing the next state.
D) By replaying a pre-recorded sequence of states.

⏱️ Question 9: What determines the size of those discrete steps?

A) Limits and constraints built into the system’s rules.
B) The observer’s personal expectations.
C) The need to keep the system stable and computable.
D) The amount of information available in the universe.

⏳ Question 10: What does it mean that time is discrete (step-by-step) in a digital universe?

A) That change happens in steps, not in a continuous flow.
B) That time is an illusion created by human memory.
C) That there is a smallest meaningful unit of change.
D) That nothing ever really changes, only our perception does.

📐 Question 11: What does it mean that space and time are discrete in MBT?

A) That objects cannot move smoothly from one place to another.
B) That infinite precision is not possible in the system.
C) That space is pixelated like a video screen.
D) That there is a smallest possible change in position and state.

⚙️ Question 12: What advantages does discretization of space and time offer?

A) It prevents contradictions and impossible transitions.
B) It allows infinite detail and resolution.
C) It makes the system stable, coherent, and computable.
D) It makes the universe simpler and less rich in experience.

Constraints imply rules

If reality has limits (like update steps), those limits come from something: a Rule-Set.

📜 Question 13: What is the Rule-Set in MBT?

A) A script that predetermines every future event.
B) The set of rules that defines what is possible and impossible in a given reality.
C) A list of moral rules that consciousness should follow.
D) A human-made model used only to describe reality.

🌱 Question 14: How can a coherent universe emerge from simple rules?

A) By pure randomness without any structure.
B) Through repeated application of simple rules over many iterations.
C) Only if the rules are very complex from the beginning.
D) By external control constantly correcting the system.

🔒 Question 15: Is there any limit to how much space-time can change in one update?

A) No
B) Yes

🧪 Question 16: Can a simulation work without maximum limits on change per update?

A) No
B) Yes

🔗 Question 17: How do these limits relate to coherence?

A) They make the universe less interesting.
B) They prevent sudden, impossible jumps between states.
C) They reduce the number of possible futures to one.
D) They enforce moral order in the universe.

Great — now we’re ready for the next block

So the limits and rules don’t just constrain reality… they make coherent evolution and complexity possible.

So the limits and rules do not just constrain reality — they give it a structure within which things can grow and evolve, and rich and complex patterns can emerge.

🧮 Question 18: How do discrete limits make the universe computable?

A) By removing uncertainty from the system.
B) By fixing all outcomes in advance.
C) By allowing the system to calculate changes in finite steps.
D) By simplifying consciousness.

🧷 Question 19: Why does causality depend on discrete limits?

A) Because causality is only a human invention.
B) Because limits create time itself.
C) Because without limits, cause and effect could not be ordered.
D) Because limits make randomness impossible.

💡 Question 20: What kind of limit is the speed of light an example of in MBT?

A) A limitation of human measurement instruments.
B) A random accident of physics.
C) A maximum rate of change allowed by the Rule-Set.
D) A moral boundary built into nature.

So the limits and rules do not just constrain reality — they give it a structure within which things can grow and evolve, and rich and complex patterns can emerge.

🧩 Question 21: What is a complex system in MBT?

A) A system with many random parts and no overall structure.
B) A system where simple interacting parts produce rich, large-scale behavior.
C) A system that is too complicated for humans to understand.
D) A system whose behavior cannot be predicted at all.

For all these simple parts to interact without the system falling into chaos, some kind of organization is needed. So how does such a system avoid destroying itself?

🧠 Question 22: What does “self-organization” mean in a complex system?

A) That an external controller constantly arranges the system’s parts.
B) That the system follows a fixed script from the start.
C) That order and structure arise from interactions within the system itself.
D) That the system always moves toward maximum order.

🌀 Question 23: What is a fractal in the context of MBT and complex systems?

A) A chaotic pattern with no structure.
B) A pattern that appears only in nature, not in simulations.
C) A shape that repeats similar patterns at different scales.
D) A pattern created by random noise.

Some patterns look complex, but they are built in a very simple way. You start with a simple shape, and then you repeat the same operation again and again.

For example:

– Take an equilateral triangle and remove the small equilateral triangle in its center. Then do the same thing to each of the remaining triangles. And then again. And again. The same pattern appears at smaller and smaller scales.

– Or think of a coastline on a map. When you zoom in, the shape of the coast looks irregular — but it looks similar at different levels of zoom.

– Or look at the branches of a tree. A big branch splits into smaller branches, and those split into even smaller ones, following the same pattern each time.

In all these cases, complexity does not come from complicated parts. It comes from repeating the same simple process again and again.

🔁 Question 24: What does “iteration” mean in this context?

A) Randomly changing the system’s rules over time.
B) Repeating the same process again and again, applying the same rules each time.
C) Running many different rules at the same time.
D) Stopping the system when it reaches a stable state.

So far, we have been looking at how the system works, based on information.

But information isn’t experience. The system doesn’t ever experience anything by itself — and we don’t experience information either.

So where does our experience come from?

📡 Question 25: What is the data stream in MBT?

A) The continuous flow of processed information delivered to a consciousness.
B) A physical beam of particles sent from the system to consciousness.
C) A record of all past events stored in the system.
D) The total amount of information in the entire universe.

📥 Question 26: How does consciousness receive the information it experiences?

A) By directly observing the system’s internal states.
B) By reconstructing reality from memory alone.
C) By being fed a rendered stream of data appropriate to its perspective.
D) By choosing freely which data to receive from the system.

But that stream is not the same for everyone.

🧭 Question 27: Why is the data stream different for each consciousness?

A) Because consciousness creates the data stream by imagining it.
B) Because the system makes random choices about what to send.
C) Because each consciousness has a different perspective and interaction history.
D) Because each consciousness lives in a different universe.

So what each consciousness receives is not just given — it is generated specifically for it by the system.

🖼️ Question 28: What does it mean that reality is “rendered” for each consciousness?

A) That reality only exists inside the mind of the observer.
B) That reality is fake or meaningless.
C) That the system generates a personalized experience based on rules and context.
D) That nothing exists unless someone is looking.

But even though each consciousness receives its own stream, reality is shared among different observers.

🤝 Question 29: What does it mean that reality is “shared” between different observers?

A) That all observers receive exactly the same data stream.
B) That different observers receive compatible data streams that stay coherent with each other.
C) That observers coordinate their beliefs to agree on what is real.
D) That only one observer actually exists, and others are simulations.

🧷 Question 30: How does the system maintain coherence between different data streams?

A) By forcing all observers to see exactly the same thing.
B) By storing all experiences in a single shared memory.
C) By constantly checking and adjusting streams so they remain consistent with each other.
D) By letting each observer create their own independent reality.

✅❓ Question 31: Does shared coherence mean that all observers experience the same reality in the same way?

A) No
B) Yes

So far, we have been talking about how the system keeps reality coherent. But coherence does not mean that the future is fixed.

🌿 Question 32: What does it mean that the future is “open” in MBT?

A) That anything can happen without any constraints.
B) That future outcomes are probabilistic rather than fixed in advance.
C) That consciousness can freely choose any possible future.
D) That the system has not calculated the future yet.

❓ Question 33: What is uncertainty in this context?

A) A lack of knowledge caused only by human ignorance.
B) A mistake in the system’s calculations.
C) A temporary gap in the system’s memory.
D) A fundamental indeterminacy in how outcomes become actual.

🧠 Question 34: What does “indeterminacy” mean in MBT?

A) That everything is completely random.
B) That the system has no rules.
C) That outcomes are not fully determined until they are resolved.
D) That consciousness creates outcomes by imagining them.

📈 Question 35: What does it mean that the future exists as a probability distribution?

A) That the future already exists fully formed somewhere.
B) That the future is a set of possible outcomes with different likelihoods.
C) That all possible futures are equally likely.
D) That probabilities are created by human belief.

Because each moment builds on the previous one, the system must keep track of what has already happened

🗂️ Question 36: What is the past database in MBT?

A) A collection of human memories.
B) A memory structure that stores all resolved events as information.
C) A physical archive storing all past events.
D) A place where old realities are stored.

🧾 Question 37: What is the future database in MBT?

A) A simulation of one predicted future.
B) A structure that stores all possible future outcomes with their probabilities.
C) A list of all events that will definitely happen.
D) A record of decisions that consciousness has not yet made.

✅❓ Question 38: Does the future database determine what will happen?

A) No
B) Yes

⏩ Question 39: How does the future become the past in MBT?

A) When the system copies all futures into the past database.
B) Immediately after one possible outcome is realized as the present moment, it is stored as information in the past database.
C) When the system predicts the future accurately.
D) When consciousness chooses a future by intention alone.

So many possibilities exist, but only one of them becomes real — and something has to influence which one that is.

🗳️ Question 40: What role does choice play in how reality unfolds?

A) Choice creates the system’s rules.
B) Choice influences which possible outcome becomes actual.
C) Choice eliminates uncertainty entirely.
D) Choice has no effect on reality at all.

🌍 Question 41: Does every choice create a new separate reality?

A) Yes
B) No

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Question 42: How do interactions between consciousnesses influence outcomes?

A) They cancel each other out so no one has influence.
B) They only affect subjective experience, not the actual outcome.
C) They combine individual choices into joint probabilities.
D) They override the Rule-Set when enough observers agree.

🌱 Question 43: What does it mean that consciousness evolves in MBT?

A) That it becomes more intelligent over time.
B) That it becomes better at predicting outcomes.
C) That it reduces its entropy by making higher-quality choices.
D) That it accumulates more experiences.

In simple terms, “lowering entropy” here does not mean cooling down or becoming more ordered like a machine.

It means becoming less chaotic inside — less driven by fear, impulse, and confusion, and more able to respond in a clear and coherent way.

So when consciousness evolves, it does not just accumulate experiences. It learns to make choices that create less internal conflict and less conflict with others.

For example:

Imagine someone who reacts automatically with anger every time they feel threatened. That reaction creates chaos inside them and around them.

If over time they learn to pause, understand what is happening, and respond more calmly and clearly, they are reducing internal chaos — and that is what MBT calls “lowering entropy.”

🧩 Question 44: Which description best captures the overall picture of reality in MBT?

A) A mechanical universe that runs independently of observers.
B) A subjective illusion created entirely by the human mind.
C) A prewritten script where nothing really changes.
D) An information-based system that generates experience for evolving consciousness.

👀 Question 45: What role do observers play in this picture?

A) They interact with the system and influence how possibilities become actual.
B) They passively watch what the system does.
C) They create reality out of nothing.
D) They only exist inside their own private experiences.

🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️ Question 46: Does this mean that reality depends entirely on human observers?

A) No
B) Yes

🎯 Question 47: What is the main practical implication of this picture?

A) That physics will soon be replaced by philosophy.
B) That nothing we do really matters.
C) That improving the quality of our choices affects both our experience and the system we participate in.
D) That we can escape the system by understanding it.