[extropy-chat] Identity (was: Survival tangent)

[Randall Randall]

On Nov 5, 2006, at 5:17 PM, Lee Corbin wrote:
> Randall writes
>> Lee Corbin would say, I believe, that the important thing is
>> increase Lee-Corbin-runtime, and that this dictates saving
>> this particular Lee-Corbin-process,
>
> Right you are!  Proof that we *do* understand each other,
> occasionally  :-)

Once in a while, perhaps. :)

> But I say that these are only "lower-order" aspects of one,
> and are not representative of who I truly am. If the scenario
> becomes less graphic, and one of them must press a button
> and be disintegrated, then all of us would be indifferent as to
> who did so.  If the button were in the room, we'd all reach
> for it, with the understanding that the last 999,999 would
> not be disintegrated.  No instance would actually care a
> whit.

Whereas all million units of Randall  (using the below exchange
as my guide) would be trying to figure out how to avoid button
pressing at all.

>> If you don't agree that the runtime lost would indeed be
>> infinitesimal,
>
> But it's not infinitesimal:  it's one whole unit of John Clark or
> Lee Corbin.

If you're willing to use this argument, then everything I would
say can be rephrased as "unit" rather than "person", and my own
concern is that this particular unit of Randall Randall continue.

I'm not sure that this terminology change actually adds anything,
however.


--
Randall Randall <randall at randallsquared.com>
"One thing that makes me tired is people who whine about the prospect
  of restoring youth. I want to tell them to get a life, but the  
point seems to
  be that they’re not really sure they want one." -- Perry Willis