X-Message-Number: 25483
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 18:45:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Badger <>
Subject: Re: coadjutants

Dr. E wrote:
Matthew Sullivan wrote about coadjutant minds--each 
"person" perhaps  scattered over many planets, the parts 
in some kind of communication.
 
I write:
Google search for "coadjutant minds" = 0 
Is this phrase original to you, Dr. E?

Dr. E wrote:
There is always a non-zero chance  of calamity, with eventual 
calamity certain. But it you are large enough and growing fast 
enough, and if destruction of any single piece is not fatal, then 
there can be a non-zero chance of infinite life.

...it seems reasonable that "you" in that case  would have no 
single, central essence, but would have (or be) many qualia  
and systems of qualia at all times. Changes, losses, or additions 
would be just  that or those, both subjectively and objectively. 

I write:
What about the idea of taking the form of a Utility Fog, a concept
popularized in Crichton's book, "The Prey". I always thought that 
if the mind could be sustained on such a substrate, it would be 
ideal for survival, although I suppose a major calamity would still
be a problem (e.g. a nearby supernova). Using that form, we 
could choose to be so diffuse as to be invisible or take on the 
shape of any solid object we wish. Perhaps your primary 
consciousness could be based somewhere else and simply be extended 
to the fog. I would also think the fog could separate into multiple
smaller fogs each working on a different project at the same time. 

Links can be found at:
http://www.pivot.net/~jpierce/utility_fog.htm

Matthew wrote: 
As long as there is a free flow of information between copies and a
resynchronization based on the knowledge and experience of all 
copies, I don t believe duplicate minds must deviate from one 
another.

I write:
Agreed, but let me ask you this; Isn't it likely the technology
to link with others will likely arrive prior to duplicate-
producing technologies?

Suppose you decided to connect with 9 other people so that you 
all started sharing experiences simultaneously (i.e. a Borg-like
state). How could your brain handle processing that much 
information? For that matter, how could you handle it even if 
you were linked to duplicates? And even if your brain could 
handle it, would your original identity still be intact
after 'becoming' 10 people? How small would the world seem after
disengaging?

And what about the economic pressures to go Borg? Two heads 
really are better than one and 100 is probably better than 25 
when it comes to being competitive in a capitalist based economy. 
The term "corporate entitities" may well take on new meaning in 
the future.

Best regards, 

Scott

=====
Wm Scott Badger, PhD

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