From: "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury@aeiveos.com>
> An included quote:
> > Baldi adds a number of intriguing back-of-the-envelope calculations to
> > this discussion, including an estimate of how much information is
> > contained in a lifetime of experience, or brain inputs: By his estimation,
> > the amount is 2.2x10^18 bits (about 2.7x10^17 bytes), which at current
rates
> > of memory storage advances will be within the memory capacity of a typical
> > personal computer in 27 years. Based on this, Baldi then investigates the
> > information size of what he calls the external self, a complete genomic
> > sequence together with the recording of all inputs and outputs of an
> > individuals brain over a lifetime, which he estimates to be still on the
> > order of 10^18 bits, within reach of modern computer technology. The
> > internal self, the amount of information required to capture the relevant
> > structure of your brain that defines your identity, is largerat least
10^27
> > bits but might still be within reach of emerging technologies.
>
> People should take these numbers with a *very* large grain of salt
> for they *are* back-of-the-envelope calculations.
In addition to Baldi's overestimation of memory requirements that you've
generously taken to the time to point out (thanks), Baldi's reference to
"current rates of memory storage advances" fails to include a recent discovery
concerning a new kind of computer memory:
Non-metallic magnet could be dream computer memory
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991443
--- --- --- --- ---
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment, malevolent AI
We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces superstition.
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