On Sun, Aug 14, 2011 at 7:18 PM, Colin Geoffrey Hales < cgha...@unimelb.edu.au> wrote:
> > -----Original Message----- > From: everything-list@googlegroups.com [mailto: > everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Craig Weinberg > Sent: Monday, 15 August 2011 10:07 AM > To: Everything List > Subject: Re: Turing Machines > > On Aug 14, 7:29 pm, Colin Geoffrey Hales <cgha...@unimelb.edu.au> > wrote: > > Great video ... a picture of simplicity.... > > > > Q. 'What is it like to be a Turing Machine?" = Hard Problem. > > > > A. It's like being the pile of gear in the video, NO MATTER WHAT IS ON > > THE TAPE. > > Why doesn't it matter what's on the tape? If I manually move the tape > under the scanner myself, will the gear as a whole know the > difference? If I dismantle the machine or turn it off will it care? > > Craig > > Colin ============ > > Precisely. How can it possibly 'care'? If the machine was (1) spread across > the entire solar system, or (2) miniaturized to the size of an atom, (3) > massively parallel, (4) quantum, (5) digital, (6) analog or (7) > whatever..... it doesn't matter.... it will always be "what it is like to be > the physical object (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7)", resp., no matter > what is on the tape. If find the idea that the contents of the tape somehow > magically delivers a first person experience to be intellectually moribund. > > The point is, what magic is assumed in the contents of the tape being > fiddled with 'Turing-ly' delivers first person content? Legions of folks out > there will say "its all information processing!", to which I add... the > brain, which is the 100% origins of the only 'what it is like' description > we know of, is NOT doing what the video does. > > So.... good question. I wish others would ask it. > > Colin and Craig, Imagine that God has such a machine on his desk, which he uses to compute the updated positions of each particle in some universe over each unit of Planck time. Would you agree it is possible for the following to occur in the simulation: 1. Stars to coalesce due to gravity and begin fusion? 2. Simple biological molecules to forum? 3. Simple single-celled life forms to evolve 4. More complex multi-cellular life forms to evolve? 5. Intelligent life forms to evolve (at least as intelligent as humans)? 6. Intelligent life in the simulation to solve problems and develop culture and technology? 7. For that intelligent life to question qualia? 8. For that intelligent life to define the hard problem? 9. For those beings to create an interconnected network of computers and debate this same topic? If you disagree with any of the numbered possibilities, please state which ones you disagree with. Thanks, Jason -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
