Never could be entirely, but it will probably be possible to make the
subjective more objective by degree without ever reaching true
objectivity. You could at least get a better sense of what it would be
like to be Hal. I think we slightly attune in this fashion everyday when
we attempt to communicate. In order to understand what another person is
attempting to express to us we have to momentarily try to empathetically
become like them in order to understand what they are saying as closely
as possible to the way that they understand it. When communicating
mathematics of course their is less empathy required than when we are
talking about a person's piece of artwork. The more subjective the
matter, the more empathy or attunement required.
The more we have in common, the more we can communicate.
Hal said,
>An idea which is very common in science fiction is being able
>to directly experience another person's consciousness. This may
>be done through telepathy, through mechanically assisted mind
>reading, through some kind of upload/download process; a hundred
>different methods have probably been described.
I'm not sure, but I don't think Hal meant experiencing the entirety of
the other person's consciousness. I think he may have meant to
experience another person's consciousness in the fashion of
communication, which again only requires a small degree of attunement. I
am pretty certain that the enabling technology for this sort of
interaction does not lie to far off in the future. It will be particular
interesting to me, because it should allow for a much more dynamic and
somewhat less subjective expression of emotions.
Cheers,
-- Gregory Houston vertigo@triberian.com 816.561.1524