On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 19:14:20 -0700, Warren Ockrassa
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Aug 31, 2004, at 6:47 PM, Alberto Monteiro wrote:
>
> > I imagine that if it were
> > possible to keep cutting with surviving remains we would get other
> > smaller versions of "I".
>
> I'm sure you're correct. This is actually one reason I was so intrigued
> by _Kiln People_ -- a sort of energetic resonance being passed into
> clay, and then "inloaded" (before it had too much time to digress into
> its own consciousness) is an interesting idea. If you haven't read the
> book you might want to. ;)
>
> It's why I don't really buy the idea of someone becoming "immortal" by
> putting his consciousness into a machine. There'd be immediate
> divergence which would only grow over time; in essence you'd have two
> distinct entities in very short order. (Oh, you could kill the body --
> but that would end the distinct consciousness in the body. I don't
> think there's one "essence" allotted to a person, IOW.)
Poul Anderson explored this some in his series beginning with _Harvest
the Stars_. I recommend it. (Not just for that, but for other
"divergence" issues.)
Julia
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