On Mon, 04 Nov 1996 Michael Lorrey <retroman@tpk.net> Wrote:
>>John:
>>Suppose I show you 2 people, you talk and get to know them,
>>then I then take them away and upload them. One I Upload
>>very gradually under conditions you would consider ideal,
>>the other one I upload instantaneously with my gamma ray
>>pulse laser. Now I show you the 2 uploads and let you ask
>>them any question and perform any test you like. Is there
>>any way you could determine which one was uploaded quickly
>>and which one was not? If the Scientific Method can not find
>>any difference we must conclude that there is no difference,
>>or we will sink into the swamp of metaphysics and
>>superstition.
>Michael:
>TO the two people you uploaded by different means, it makes
>a world of difference. The guy you flash uploaded is dead,
>and his simulacrum thinks he is the original.
Yes so you say, but what proof do you have to back it up? The Scientific
Method demands evidence, and in this case you don't have the tiniest particle
of it, you don't even have unscientific testimonials, every one of the fast
uploads says everything is fine and they are the same person they ever were.
Unless you believe in the mumbo jumbo that religion has to say about the soul
(in which case I don't see why you'd be interested in Science or this list),
consciousness MUST be generated by physical means. All uploads are physical
systems, if the Scientific Method can not find a difference between an unload
that is made quickly and one made slowly, then Science says that there is no
difference.
On the other hand, although the Scientific Method has always worked
wonderfully well in the past, it has never been proven to work all the time,
so this doesn't mean I have proven your theory wrong, I have most certainly
not done that. There are lot's of ideas I can't prove to be false. I can't
disprove the theory that when uploads are made on Monday Wednesday or Friday
the person will survive but if the upload is made on Tuesday Thursday or
Saturday the person will die. That theory and yours have an equal probability
of being true.
John K Clark johnkc@well.com
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