X-Message-Number: 8906
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 22:16:31 -0800 (PST)
From: John K Clark <>
Subject: Backups

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In #8896  Thomas Donaldson <> On Fri, 5 Dec 1997 Wrote:
             

        >One philosopher has split those thinking about the "copy" issue into
        
        >two camps: those who consider continuity important and those who
                >don't. 
              
Then cryonicists would have to be in the continuity is not important camp. 
There is nothing very continuous about consciousness and indeed all metabolic 
activity coming to a dead halt for decades, perhaps centuries.
             

        >the continuity people may know very well that they're been         
        >constantly replaced, atom by atom. It's CONTINUOUS, you see.


It's totally arbitrary, it depends on the time interval you use. If you're 
using nanoseconds then there is only a small continuous change in you from one 
moment to the next, even if you're getting blown up by a stick of dynamite.



        >As for my personal opinion, for what it's worth, I'd accept that a
                >copy was myself if a) it were good enough 
              

Naturally fidelity is important, but I very much doubt you'd need to go all  
the way to the quantum level.


        >not as easy as those considering the possibility blithely think, 
              
I haven't heard anybody on Cryonet say it would be easy.

              
        >and b) there was only one copy at any one time.

              
I hate to tell you this, but yesterday I secretly made a copy of Thomas 
Donaldson, so I guess that means that you are not you, even though you think 
you are.
              

        >Why? Because lots of things about my life depend on me being unique
                >at any one time. Like my wife, ownership of property, etc etc.
              

Well of course it does, because up to now that's the way things have always 
been. Up to now lots of things about your life also depend on the fact that  
The United States has 50 states or that all human beings live only on planet  
Earth, but that doesn't guarantee that's the way things will always be.
                                                    
                                              John K Clark    

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