On 11 January 2014 15:57, Terren Suydam <terren.suy...@gmail.com> 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 everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
