"Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury@www.aeiveos.com> writes:
> The question comes down to *survival* in your ecological niche.
> If SIs know all the laws of physics, how the universe works,
> are able to watch & simulate any potential dangers, know that
> the "magical fantasy worlds" are nothing but senseless diversions
> for the uploads, etc. then *why not sleep*?
>
> You, as a human, may have "curiosity", but the real question you
> have to answer is -- is there an endless supply of unanswered
> questions to feed that curiosity?
This is an interesting question. Obviously, there are an infinite number of mathematical questions to ponder (and an infinite number of different kinds of questions to ponder, and so on), which implies an infinite amount of purely mental entertainment. If we assume that SIs are hardcore realists (they all are decendants from Carter-Zimmerman polis) and avoid such fantasies, then the question is whether there are an endless supply of questions about the physical universe to explore. This seems to relate to how complex it can be. It seems that the most complex systems around in this scenario are the SIs themselves, and their activities and artefacts. I can't see any reason why not they could get involved in endless coevolutionary races towards increasing complexity, that are both relevant for their survival and interesting ("I wonder how the Magellan Superposition Alliance will react if I cause clenchirations in the armiphlange?").
Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y