[extropy-chat] limits of computer feeling

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 3/12/07, Anna Taylor <femmechakra at yahoo.ca> wrote:

--- Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Suppose you have the choice between driving to work or
> riding a bicycle to work. Normally, you would choose
> to drive, because even though the bicycle has
> advantages, it gets you places slower and sweatier.
> However, if you had access to the source code of your
> mind, you could simply adjust things so that the
> pleasure you get from the bicycle outweighs the
> inconvenience. Thus, everyone wins: you enjoy yourself
> more than driving the car, even though it's more
> effort, and you get to exercise and help the
> environment in the process. Sure, you could have got
> the same pleasure by staying at home, but the extra
> work at least need not *detract* from pleasure. If
> it's just as much fun doing nothing or achieving some
> goal, you could nudge up the pleasure associated with
> achieving the goal.
>
> Anna:
> I have to mention that I find your examples quite
> interesting and motivating.
>
> Stathis: regarding:
> However, if you had access to the source code of your
> mind, you could simply adjust things so that the
> pleasure you get from the bicycle outweighs the
> inconvenience.
>
> Anna:
> If I had access to my own source code I could simply
> change everything about myself that I didn't like.
> It would be as easy as flipping a switch.  It would
> seem like a walk in the park.


That's right! You need never be unhappy with anything ever again, unless you
wanted to experience unhappiness for some nostalgic reason.

Stathis:
> You could alter your mind so that you don't want to do
> this. People deny themselves pleasures all the time in
> pursuit of some supergoal, constantly struggling
> against temptation. How much easier would it be if you
> could just switch off a craving for cigarettes or sex
> or whatever? You could even set a mental timer: I will
> indulge in ecstasy for 100 years, then abstain for 100
> years, and while abstinent I will have no desire to
> indulge.
>
> Anna:
> I think 100 years is a rather long time frame but I
> appreciate what you meant.  I believe that you can
> alter your mind state if you choose.  Describing how
> to do just that is very difficult. Any personal
> experiences that I can relate with?
>

I'm afraid I'm the sort of person who just takes the car if it's easier!
There are ways of motivating yourself to do things you don't really feel
like doing, ranging from just gritting your teeth and doing it to cognitive
behavioural therapy to psychotropic medication (eg. bupropion to stop
smoking, naltrexone to stop drinking or using opioids). However, these are
all very crude and inefficient compared to the ideal of editing your own
mind at will. I think this will be a given if we live as computer uploads,
but before then we will probably have increasingly specific medication and
brain-computer interfaces which will give almost as much control.

Stathis Papaioannou
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