From: Harvey Newstrom (newstrom@newstaffinc.com)
Date: Tue Jun 22 1999 - 22:07:51 MDT
I submit that your pattern-model will not occur without a causal-model brain
actually running the consciousness programming and creating the patterns for
the pattern-model brain. This was my objection to the examples. The
disjointed neurons being fired in a pattern are being forced into this
pattern by the causal-model brains. The patterns are *caused* by the
causal-model brains. The sequence from one pattern to the next is *caused*
by the causal-model brains. Random patterns of bits can't rearrange
themselves to form a coherent stream of consciousness unless there is a
causal-model brain running, either in a human brain or on a mechanical
computer CPU. Disks drives that have patterns of bits, or screen displays
with patterns of bits cannot have a stream of data that responds or reacts
except as directed by the causal-model brain.
Your so-called pattern-model for consciousness is merely a snapshot of a
causal-model brain at a specific moment in time. Your series of programmed
patterns is merely an animated picture of a brain working. It is not a
functional brain by itself. It can never input data and react. It can
never do anything other than replay the pattern that is being animated. It
is a movie of a brain being conscious, so it looks very much like a brain
being conscious, but it fails any Turing Test. Ask the film a question. It
can't answer until the causal brain makes a new film of a brain giving the
answer. Then, when that film is played back, it will appear that the
pattern brain has answered. The pattern-brain cannot meet the definitions
of life or consciousness without having a causal-model brain standing in for
it.
-- Harvey Newstrom <mailto://newstrom@newstaffinc.com> <http://newstaffinc.com> Author, Consultant, Engineer, Legal Hacker, Researcher, Scientist. ----- Original Message ----- From: <hal@finney.org> To: <extropians@extropy.com> Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 10:24 pm Subject: Re: Qualia and the Galactic Loony Bin > Several people have pointed to the lack of connectivity and causality in > the separated-brain experiment as reasons to believe it is not conscious. > > I think this illustrates that there are two models of consciousness > even within the functionalist/computationalist paradigm: the pattern > model, and the causal model. > > In the pattern model, consciousness is associated with a certain pattern > of events, such as the pattern of neural firings in our brains. Reproducing > that pattern will cause the consciousness to exist again.
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