From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Wed Aug 15 2001 - 09:23:03 MDT
Amazing, isn't it, the incredible diversity of opinions about uploading
and embodiment on Extropians itself?
Anders Sandberg writes
> Well, cybergnosticism - the material world is inefficient and impure, and we
> should strive to become pure information - is unfortunately rampant among
> transhumanists. But that doesn't mean it is a very workable philosophy, IMHO.
Yes, why would one on principle strive to become "pure information", as if there
was such a thing independent of the material world anyway? Of course, there
are many shortcomings to the material world; but we have known that for hundreds
of thousands of years, and take great pains to live in artificial realities
all the time. Where I live, for example, (inside a house) I have nearly
complete control over the temperature. My ancestors found it unsuitable to
be exposed to the elements the way animals are.
John Smart has recently explained this rather well in his June newsletters
(see www.singularitywatchers.com):
"Once our simulations reach a certain complexity, we learn about reality far faster and
more effectively by building and exploring our models than we do by continuing to muck
about in the physical world. I call this phenomenon "the Supremacy of Simulations," and
have more to say about it in my forthcoming book."
"Of course, all human thought essentially a simulation. And we use this model, this
highly selective subset of our past perceptions, to filter our new inputs. The simulation
constrains the branch points we could take, it curbs the combinatorial explosion of
possibilities. As children, we spend a tremendous amount of time in sensorimotor
interaction with the real world. Then once we have built reasonable facsimile
simulations, we make a huge transition to an interior world, where we spend most of our
time in internal simulations, and thenceforth precious little time interacting with
external reality. I've read the average U.S. adult spends four minutes a day entirely
outdoors, soaking in the "real" world. The rest of our discretionary time is spent more
profitably in an interior landscape: Thinking. Running simulations."
Anders continues,
> As I see it, uploads are still going to be embodied. As I argued
> at TransVision 00 in London, uploads might actually be more
> obsessed with their bodies than we are currently!
This might occur for a while, but soon the innate slowness of the physical
world would take its toll. Since one can think, experience, and enjoy
millions of times faster in virtual reality than when constantly inter-
acting with the "real" world, I expect my outside sensors not to be
overly busy.
Lee Corbin
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