On 11 January 2014 15:57, Terren Suydam <[email protected]> wrote:
> If they're all truly identical then yes, it's much easier to see how it > could be experienced as a single consciousness. > > But what precisely does it mean for an infinity of computations to go > through my state? How precisely is "my state" specified? Imagine you have > two computations that essentially simulate my brain and they are identical > in every way except that there is a difference in orientation of a single > water molecule. Would one of those emulations be excluded from the infinity > of computations going through my state? If so, it > I don't think they emulate your brain, only your mental state. So I don't think a water molecule would normally matter, since it isn't perceived. > seems to be an overly stringent requirement for specifying my state, but > that could just be a question of what substitution level you bet on. If the > two nearly identical simulations do both contribute, then we can ask the > same question of bigger and bigger differences between two hypothetical > simulations until we can say unambiguously that they cannot both be part of > the snapshot of my current conscious state. The question is then, where > exactly did we cross the line, and how do you define it? > Yes, that sounds reasonable. Although I beleive the subst level isn't knowable, even in principle, according to Bruno. > You can also go through the same exercise, but modifying instead the > environment, where the environment could include other people and their > states of mind. This one seems easier, as you could group together all > computations whose differences don't impact the environment that I am > consciously aware of. > > The point being that if we do allow that non-identical emulations can > contribute, that's where the "magic" happens... the fact that my experience > is a measure of the most stable continuations, in the sense that white > rabbits don't appear. Are there other worlds (akin to Glak's) where I am > typing this email only to be interrupted by a ufo tractoring my house off > the ground? > I think we have to assume so, along with ones where you spontaneously combust, turn into a white rabbit, etc. But those have very small measure (and I expect one day Bruno will explain why... but I think this is an open problem!) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
