[extropy-chat] The human OS [was: when will computers improve?]

[Jef Allbright]

Robert J. Bradbury wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Dec 2003, Jef Allbright wrote:
>
>> Our sense of Self is an illusion, arising out of the interaction of
>> multiple processes, some competing, others cooperating, interacting
>> with each other and the environment in a way that blurs the borders
>> of identity.
>
> Hmmm... I have no problem with my "identity" it is a collection of
> knowledge, memories of historical experiences and behavior patterns
> that have generally worked.  Sure its a mix of various priorities and
> agendas but it remains reasonably stable over time.  The exceptions I
> would cite involve what are generally recognized as mental illnesses,
> e.g. schizophrenia.
>
>> There is no Master Control Program in the mind.
>
> You have a hard time convincing me of that if there is a program
> that can (and in a not insignificant fraction of the population does)
> terminate all of the other programs from time to time.

Suicide is a useful example.  It is almost always the *result* of the
organism's response to pain, rather than a *goal*, and is seldom carried out
in a clear state of mind.

Note that I am not saying that the Self doesn't exist, nor that the pain
isn't experienced.  I am saying that the sense of self arises out of the
multitude of processes taking place (mostly) in the brain, rather than the
Self somehow driving them.

Killing is also a useful example.  While some may assume it is the ultimate
expression of control of one organism over another (and in a narrow sense
this can be a true statement), it is more illuminating to see killing as the
*result* of organisms reacting to fear, anger, jealously, and other evolved
drives that promoted the fitness of the organism's ancestors but are rapidly
becoming inappropriate now and for the future. (I'm not talking about
self-defense here.)

Militarism and nationalism are examples of the blurring of identity.  Humans
have evolved to operate as groups because this has enhanced the fitness of
the larger group organism over the smaller, less organized organism.  When
persons operate in a group, however, they tend to respond as a group, and
behave in a manner inconsistent with their individual identities.  Human
response to authority, peer pressure, hypnotism, mob behavior, etc., are
examples of the blurring of identity due to external influences.

It's important that we better understand our current nature, so we can make
better-informed, more rational choices for our future.

- Jef
www.jefallbright.net