X-Message-Number: 16111 From: "Andrew S. Davidson" <> Subject: Space and Time and Identity Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001 22:32:51 +0100 References: <> On 23 Apr 2001 09:00:01 Robert Ettinger wrote: >For the moment, I can only reiterate that most writers have missed the >centrality of qualia or the "self circuit"--the physical nature of subjective >experience. Awareness must surely bind space and time--it could not exist at >a mathematical point in space (if there is any such thing), nor at an instant >in time (ditto). (This is not about quantum uncertainties, but about the >feeling of something happening.) I understand that it has been demonstrated that the conscious mind is only aware of events in arrears and reconstructs a plausible sensation that they are happening in real time. It's rather like watching streaming video - it's buffered to remove any jerkiness. In other words, the sensation of continuity is an illusion created because it makes an intuitive user interface. Be that as it may, I see that folk are still wrestling with the issue of identity. I don't think much of the $10M thought experiment - seems rather unlikely to me. Here's a more relevant one: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Scenario: You wake from suspension and a white-coated doctor welcomes you back and says that they'd like to perform some tests to make sure that all is well. You naturally agree and he asks you a series of questions - "How do you feel?", "What's your favourite colour?", "What is your first memory?" and so forth. The doctor starts to frown as the test progresses and eventually says, "I'm sorry Mr Smith but the revival has not been a complete success. We haven't recovered your personality to the specified tolerance and so we're going to have to try again. Excuse us, we'll have to deactivate you now." As he reaches for a red button, you exclaim, "Wait a minute! I feel ok - what about _me_? And shouldn't you have worked all this out in advance before you revived me?" He replies, "Of course, we simulate the process in advance and the simulation is necessarily authentic in every detail. This is just a dry run. Don't worry, you won't feel a thing - *CLICK*" ----------------------------------------------------------------------- My conclusion is that, as with current surgery, it's best if you are not conscious when the doctors are rearranging your innards/identity - being awake during the process is bound to be painful. But what if, like certain types of brain surgery, the process demands that you be conscious...? Andrew Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=16111