Re: Aha! experiences

Leevi Marttila (lm@sip.fi)
17 Oct 1998 19:24:32 +0300

"Eliezer S. Yudkowsky" <sentience@pobox.com> writes:

> Scott Badger wrote:
> >
> > But then again, every time I think of uploading, I think about the way it
> > feels to jog down a path at sunset with a cool breeze blowing across
> > my skin....and a host of other bodily pleasures.
>
> A lot of people say that. I have stopped being surprised. I suppose that
> most people still retain their emotional attachment to the world, even some
> people who think of themselves as radical Extropians. I know that I did, long
> past the point where I thought I had left it all behind... and now it's time
> for my Aha! experience.

<Me too>

I remember some years (6-10) ago thinking about doing things that would mean dying: Being in unprotected shuttle that were crashing into earth or one way trip to somewhere solar system. Then I had my Aha! experience: If I had perfect copy in the earth it would not matter whether I died. I could safely try deadly things. So this body would be destroyed and I would experience 'death', but I would not really die.

I think that it could be characterized in one sentence: Realizing in your subconscious level that physical form really doesn't matter, it's your thoughts ('algorithms') that matter.

</Me too>

-- 
LM lm+signature@sip.fi
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