2008/10/22 razihassan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > 2) I'd like to propose a thought experiment. A subject has his brain > cells removed one at a time by a patient assistant using a very fine > pair of tweezers. The brain cell is then destroyed in an incinerator. > > Is there a base level of consciousness beyond which, from the pov of > the subject, the assistant will be unable to remove any more cells, > since conscious experience will be lost? ie is there a minimum level > of 'experience' beyond which nature will appear to act to always > maintain the physical brain? > > If there is, does the second law of thermodynamics not suggest that > all brains inexorably head towards this quantum of consciousness, for > as long as our brains are physical?
The problem you raise is one of personal identity, and can be illustrated without invoking QTI. If I am copied 100 times so that copy #1 has 1% of my present memories, copy #2 has 2% of my present memories, and so on to copy #100 which has 100% of my present memories, which copy should I expect to end up as, and with what probability? What about if there are a million instantiations of copy #1 and one instantiation of the rest? What if there are 10^100^100 instantiations of copies with 1/10^100 of my present memories - as there well might be? -- Stathis Papaioannou --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
