X-Message-Number: 13692
From: "Scott Badger" <>
References: <>
Subject: Re: Can I kill the original?
Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 08:04:24 -0500

John Grigg wrote:

The question is, will science one day be so advanced that they can upload my
"full essence" into a machine or a new organic brain?  We don't want copies,
we want ourselves.  And we don't want to chance getting a copy(while we are
dead) that actually thinks it's us!  I envision some sort of super-advanced
_Star Trek_ style "transporter beam" that transfers me into the new form,
and can even return me to my old one, and without any loss of information,
energy or matter.  Will that ever be possible?

Me:

The transporter doesn't solve the problem.  The way I view it, every time
someone transports, they are killed at the point that they are disassembled.
An exact copy is apparently created somewhere else.  Since it behaves
exactly like the original, no one else is alarmed and since the original is
dead, there's no one to complain.  Kirk died a thousand deaths.

But if we stay in our original form to avoid the copy dilemma, how long
could we survive with our organic brains? How far could we really evolve? As
has been mentioned by Fred C., we'd soon fall far behind those who do
upload. I don't know the solution.  Wish I did though.

Scott Badger

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