"Robert J. Bradbury" wrote:
>
> Actually, no. Given the "dominance" behaviors we *must* be programed
> with, it would be *really* silly to want to create copies that are 100%
> equivalent. What you really want is to create a divergent self
> that can dominate a somewhat different ecological niche that you
> can relate to on multiple levels. I.e. you want a mutated
> self-clone in an alternate environment with whom one has some
> identity/empathy.
>
The closest example to a copy we have now are identical twins. It has been observed that these people generally get along very well with each other, and do not tend to compete. I once watched a televised triathlon in which two of the women were identical twins. One of them won the competition, while the other finished several minutes later because she had had a flat on the bicycle part. I watched the look that was exchanged between the two as the second sister got to the finish. It was very brief, and I can only describe it as a moment of Zen. Later, the second sister said that having her sister win, was the same as if she had won.
I have no doubt that if I could run off several copies of myself, we would flip coins to break the symmetry and each get going on one of the projects I currently do not have the time to do.
-Ken