Groundhog Day: If X remembers, is the universe truly re-set?

I was reading that strange thread about rape and time loops when I thought about this and decided to get some opinions on it. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13230891040A54862200&page=1

The time loop (if you can call it that) from that thread seemed to work like this: A persons day happens and is then reset as if none of their actions ever took place. Regardless of what actions (Actions-Y) Person-X took, Actions-Y are now non-existent, in the sense that they just didn't happen. Person-X went from Point-A to Point-B then hit the rewind button and went back to Point-A, only now they didn't go back to Point-A because they never went to Point-B. The entire universe has been reset to exactly how it was at Point-A —only instead of it being "reset" Point-B just didn't ever exist.

But here's the kicker: Person-X remembers Actions-Y.

I would normally argue that, regardless of whether or not Person-X and the universe itself seemed aware of the changes, the changes still occurred and thus "it didn't happen" just isn't possible—it still happened, but everyone and everything are just utterly unaware and seemingly (but not) unaffected.

But in this case, I'm arguing against the idea that the universe truly reverted (didn't revert (?))to "it didn't happen" because Person-X has memories of Point-B. In order for the universe to be in a state where Actions-Y "didn't happen" it would need to be free of any remnants of Actions-Y and Point-B. In this case Person-X's memories are a remnant of having taken Actions-Y and reaching Point-B.

Any thoughts on this?

Wasn't there a thread about this yesterday?

Post 1. The 7th

Post 2. The 8th

♫Yesterday came so suddenly♫...

Edit: The universe is truly reset with the exception of the memories of one individual.

edited 8th Nov '12 12:52:16 AM by InfalliableLiar

From the point of view of the rest of the universe, it's Individual-X's memory that is suddenly altered, and nothing else.

Yup: from that viewpoint, a bunch of neurochemcials have gone weird in one person's head. And, heck... that happens every day to somebody, so... it's not world ending stuff.

Your premises contradict each other. You say the universe is reset in its entirety, and everything after Point A now 'never existed' - yet Person X remembers.

Memories don't exist on some kind of higher plane entirely separate from the physical world. They follow from the biochemical make-up of your brain. So if Person X's brain is in such a state that he remembers things that happened between Point A and Point B, the universe isn't reset.

Memories don't exist on some kind of higher plane entirely separate from the physical world. They follow from the biochemical make-up of your brain. So if Person X's brain is in such a state that he remembers things that happened between Point A and Point B, the universe isn't reset.

That's exactly what I think and was trying to communicate in my last paragraph. The reason I started this thread was because the premise in the other thread relied on the universe being completely reset while Person-X's memories remained intact. It's not just people in that thread, but people I know off the 'net that have argued that the person can retain their memories while the universe is truly reset. But I disagree and think that can only be a true statement if Person-X isn't part of the universe. And if that's true... this conversation has become far more interesting.

I'm actually hoping that someone will argue that Person-X can have his memories while the universe is truly reset. I'm not hoping for this in an "I'm eager to prove you wrong" sense, but in the "I'm genuinely curious about your opinion" sense. I just can't see how they arrived at that conclusion and I'd like to understand the thoughts behind it.

& So, the universe has reverted to Point-A and this guy with Point-B memories is the odd one out. I completely get that. But the way I view the situation is that that still counts as the universe having remnants of Point-B, which makes the concept of truly reverting impossible.

edited 8th Nov '12 1:54:08 PM by RockLeeYourFace

...what about out-of-body experiences, then? The data about that is flimsy, but it raises a point that perhaps, consciousness isn't entirely dependent on the brain functioning.

Therefore, it could be conceivable that one's memories of an event or series of events that existed in a branched timeline could remain, even after the timeline if reset and the universe is reset. A ghost-memory, in a sense.

..or something like that.

Either way, it's not fully reset. That person will act differently than if they never remembered, so you have Timeline C suddenly existing.

edited 8th Nov '12 2:39:12 PM by pvtnum11

Most groundhog day scenarios have the person X be transferred from one universe to another, or into the reset universe. Either that, or the memory transfers over to the person of the new universe.

A related question for theologians: If you commit a crime, does it weigh on your soul after the reset?

I always wondered about whether or not all the alternate timelines continue to exist. At one point, I started writing a short story about a woman recovering from the traumatic experience of having her lover come up ranting about being stuck in a time loop, then commit suicide because he thought he would wake up in his bed like nothing happened. The implication is that from his point of view he did, but to that version of her he stayed dead.