Peter Jones writes: > Stathis Papaioannou wrote: > > > I don't know if block universe theories are true or not, but the subjective > > passage of time is not an argument against them. If mind is computation, do > > you believe that a conscious computation can tell if it is being run as a > > sequential > > series of steps or in parallel, without any external information? > > > If it is being run at all, it is dynamic, not static. Parallel > processes are still > processes.
But the important point is that the temporal sequence does not itself make a difference to subjective experience. Would you say that it is in theory possible for the subjective passage of time to be as we know it if the blocks were not infinitesimal, but lasted for a second, so that the whole ensemble of blocks lasted for a second? Then what if you make the blocks shorter in duration and larger in number, progressively down to infinitely many blocks of infinitesimal duration: is there room for dynamism in an infenitesimal interval? And note that the usual linear view of time is not so different from this: an infinite sequence of infinitesimals, which somehow add up to the effect of continuous activity. Stathis Papaioannou _________________________________________________________________ Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail. http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=5d21c51a-b161-4314-9b0e-4911fb2b2e6d --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
