From: Robin Hanson (rhanson@gmu.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 15 2001 - 06:52:55 MST
Hal Finney wrote:
>This points to a problem with the idea of a simulation that covers only
>a limited period of time: how to initialize the characters who must
>inevitably be partway through their lives at the time the simulation
>begins. This is especially difficult if the characters are not zombies.
>The fundamental paradox is that if the Simulators are not able to know
>how humans will behave without running the simulation, then they will
>not be able to come up with realistic memories and histories for adults
>at the start of the simulation. Or, putting it the other way, if they
>are able to tell what people will be like and what they will do without
>running a simulation, then they don't need to run any simulations.
This is at most a problem for the first simulation run. Once you have
a library of simulation recordings, you can go back and start again
from a particular point, making just a few changes to see what difference
that makes.
Robin Hanson rhanson@gmu.edu http://hanson.gmu.edu
Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University
MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030-4444
703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
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