I'm not worried about the range of /all/ timelines, only those timelines which proceed into the future from this moment. (And now, the ones from this moment. Etc.)
Let's say that I decide to use a quantum randomizer to pick my first move in a game of Tic-Tac-Toe, and then play to win, or at least draw; and then I do just that. While it may be a fact that in /some/ timelines I'll change my mind and not play to win, in the /majority/ of timelines which proceed from that spot, I will continue to play to win.
Hm... how about a different approach. You seem to be arguing that if I'm about to roll some dice, then all possible rolls are going to happen. I'm not arguing against that. What I'm arguing is that some rolls are more likely than others - the classic bell curve - and that by choosing to roll, say, 3d8 instead of 3d6, it's possible to manipulate the shape of that bell curve, so that a the timelines are divvied up into different proportions than otherwise. Or maybe I use loaded dice, or scribble extra pips on, or just plan old fake-roll a die and set it to a certain number, or otherwise adjust the odds in my favor. Maybe I'll even change the probability distribution from a simple bell curve to two distinct bell curves, where the maximum probability is rolling a 3 or 18, with next-to-no probability of rolling anything in between. Sure, there will be a /small portion/ of timelines where I don't cheat, but in the /greater portion/ of timelines where I /do/ cheat, the /sub portion/ where I get the results I desire will be high - much higher than would be expected by simply assuming the standard distribution.
(If anyone else reading this wants to jump in, and either explain to me how I'm getting Lumifer's idea wrong, or can do a better job explaining the idea I'm trying to get across, feel free...)
by choosing to roll, say, 3d8 instead of 3d6, it's possible to manipulate the shape of that bell curve
It's turtles all the way down.
This-you chose to roll 3d8 and other-you chose to roll 3d6 and yet more of other-yous chose to roll 1d10, 7d36, etc. etc. Yes, you manipulated the bell curve but in other timelines it also got manipulated, albeit in a different way. When you step in one direction, yes, the timelines spreading out from that step are biased in that direction. But the step itself, when you made it another-you also made a step, in a different d...
I haven't been able to find the source of the idea, but I've recently been reminded of:
This is, of course, based on the Multiple Worlds Interpretation: if the lottery has one-in-a-million odds, then for every million timelines in which you buy a lottery ticket, in one timeline you'll win it. There's a certain amount of friction - it's not a perfect wealth transfer - based on the lottery's odds. But, looked at from this perspective, the question of "should I buy a lottery ticket?" seems like it might be slightly more complicated than "it's a tax on idiots".
But I'm reminded of my current .sig: "Then again, I could be wrong." And even if this is, in fact, a valid viewpoint, it brings up further questions, such as: how can the friction be minimized, and the efficiency of the transfer be maximized? Does deliberately introducing randomness at any point in the process ensure that at least some of your MWI-selves gain a benefit, as opposed to buying a ticket after the numbers have been chosen but before they've been revealed?
How interesting can this idea be made to be?