From: Chris Russo (extropy@russo.org)
Date: Wed Dec 06 2000 - 17:25:29 MST
At 13:14 -0800 12/6/00, Jason Joel Thompson wrote:
>To that end (and for the sake of brevity,) I invite you to engage the
>discussion at hand by means of the following question:
>
>Does the initial discrete reality experiencer transition into a new
>substrate upon the creation of a copy?
I guess the answer to that question mainly hinges on the definition
of "initial discrete reality experiencer", and possibly on
"transition" - I'll ask about that below.
What makes you you?
Besides the physical characteristics that I think that we can all
agree upon are copied down to the smallest detail, the mental
characteristics define who we are.
Basically, my "mental characteristics" are comprised of the memories
I have and the neural algorithms that drive my thoughts, as well as
any capacity to support those algorithms.
Copy the mental and physical "me" exactly, and there's no real
distinction between the two. If the existence of the original ends
in the copying process, there is no real loss, and effectively the
initial discrete reality experiencer is transitioned into a new
substrate.
I'm not sure why you used the word "transition" in your question. Do
you mean "is copied exactly"? Or are you asking about some
metaphysical transference?
If it's the former, then I'd answer "yes" to your question.
As a side note:
Consider the classic notion of teleportation, as described in the
Star Trek series and in "The Fly": You're broken down atom by atom,
turned into energy, then reconstructed at the other end. That being
at the other end of the teleportation process is effectively a copy
as described in this thread, wouldn't you agree?
Regards,
Chris Russo
--
"If anyone can show me, and prove to me, that I am wrong in thought
or deed, I will gladly change. I seek the truth, which never yet
hurt anybody. It is only persistence in self-delusion and ignorance
which does harm."
-- Marcus Aurelius, MEDITATIONS, VI, 21
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